Author's Note:
Finally! So sorry for the wait.
They stayed a few days in Grenad Harbour, after transporting the HMS Aurora to the Silver residence. They were restocking their provisions and John sent a message to a few of his old friends as recruits for a small work crew.
One morning, Rebecca awoke to something peculiar. Rather than the constant drumming of raindrops on the roof, a warm ray of sunlight peeked through the curtains of the window and shone on her face. She opened her eyes, bewildered at the lack of rain, and looked around. She then rose from her bed, walked across the room and pulled open the curtains of the far window.
Golden rays poured into the room, filling the shadowy corners with its light. Rebecca basked in the warmth of the sunlight and smiled.
"John! John, come here!" She called.
The young man in question hurried from his room into Rebecca's, his shirt haphazardly tucked into his trousers. Over the past few days, whenever Rebecca would call for John, the young man would hurry to her side, expecting her to have gone into labour.
Rebecca couldn't help but stifle a laugh. The young man's dishevelled appearance was matched by a look of confusion.
"Sunlight, John… sunlight." She pulled opened the second set of curtains, filling the room with more bright light.
John blinked, having only awoken, and paused before smiling. "Yeh really need teh stop doin' that, Rebecca." He stated.
"Doing what?" Rebecca asked playfully.
John chuckled, "You're gonna give me a heart attack."
Rebecca smirked. "It is your own fault that you are so edgy, John."
John rolled his eyes. "I know…" he sighed. "I just wanna make sure you're safe when 'it' happens."
Rebecca smiled gently, stepping closer to John and patting down his bed head. "And safe I will be so long as you are by my side, Mister Silver."
They spent the day outside, the puddles having dried up by midday, and enjoyed the sunlight. Everyone in town was out and about, walking down the cobblestone streets in light clothing or bathing at the seaside in the brilliant sunlight.
John resolved that today, on this most rare day absent of rain, they'd bury Jim's body. As the sun was beginning to climb higher into the sky, the small assembly of travellers perched at the top of a hill. Tombstones that had been wearied by years under the relentless rain surrounded them and they stood before the newest addition to the graveyard.
The dead of the Silver family rested in the ground before them. Their tombstones were made of a stone that, when cut and polished, shone as if it were made of metal. A carved tombstone stood sentinel over the freshly dug grave.
James Augusta Silver
Beneath Jim's name was his birth date and death date. Beneath the dates was a carving of a Mantabird and the inscription "Rest in Peace".
They stood in silence; Jim's casket had been laid within the hole and a mound of dirt was ready to fill the hole.
"James…" Ethel began, her amber eyes cast to the ground, "Was a free spirit and a boy with a good heart."
Ethel's words rose and fell as she tried to keep her emotions at bay until she fell silent from tears.
Rebecca stepped forwards and continued for Ethel, "He would never hesitate to lend a helping hand to someone in need and knew what had to be done." She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. "Even his last moments, he wasn't thinking about himself, his was concerned about the well-being of someone else. This is how we must remember James, as the unselfish, chivalrous and kind soul that he was."
John knelt at the edge of the grave taking a small pendant, the size of a pocket watch, from his jacket. The Silver coat of arms was emblazoned on one side of the pendant. He set it down upon the headstone, opened it and an orb began to form the familiar face of their deceased companion.
John's memories of his and Jim's youth flashed through the orb, from their carefree days as children splashing in the ocean to their mischievous adventures as teenagers.
Each mourner picked up a shovel and began to fill in the grave. Some of them had to stop shovelling to collect their thoughts or to give in to their grief, but once the grave had been filled their hearts felt as if all the weight of the world had been lifted.
John smiled, picking up the pendant from the headstone and pocketing it. "Let's not waste the day."
Most of the group went their separate ways to explore the small town while John and Rebecca followed the main road out of town and walked by the seaside. They walked in silence for the most of the journey, instead basking in the rare sunlight and looking out at the turquoise sea.
Finally, when the sun has reached its most intense heat of the day, the couple stopped walking as they came to a gradual slope that led down to the seashore.
Rebecca sighed, sitting down at the top of the slope. "I don't think I can walk another step." Her normally pale face was flushed from exertion.
John merely chuckled at this and in one fluid motion scooped up Rebecca with his organic arm. Rebecca –taken off guard- instinctively grabbed onto John's shoulder. "John what are you doing?"
John rolled his eyes. "Just trust me, Rebecca." He chuckled.
"Believe me, I do." She wrapped her arms around John's neck and met his eyes.
"Good. I'm glad." John smiled. He then leapt from the edge of the plateau, towards the seashore, using his mechanical arm as a means of slowing down their sliding.
Rebecca tightened her hold around John's neck and squeezed her eyes shut.
They slowed as the terrain levelled out until they finally stopped. John was on his back against the slope, his feet planted in the wet sand and Rebecca was still in his organic arm, clutching his neck.
Rebecca opened her eyes, noticing that they had stopped and released her hold around John's neck. "And you say that I'm going to give you a heart attack, John." She stated, uneasily getting back up onto her feet.
John shook his head, the devilish smile still on his face. "Just wanted yeh teh feel alive, Rebecca. A bit of adventuring…"
"Oh, believe me, John…" Rebecca finally steadied herself. "I think I've had enough adventures to serve me a lifetime. True be told, I would not mind feeling a bit normal right now."
John chuckled and stood from the sand. Rebecca had begun to walk down the beach towards the rocky cliff side lined with caves. The young man cast aside his lengthy jacket and stepped into the water, wading to about hip depth before following Rebecca.
The sandy beach became a rocky shoreline as Rebecca picked her way to the caverns along the cliff side. She glanced back, expecting John to be lying on the slope. She was surprised to see the young man wading through the water towards her, ignorant to the weight of his mechanical limbs.
"John!" Rebecca stopped climbing amongst the rocks. "John, what about your-" she gestured to the right half of his body.
John shrugged, stopping when he was a short distance from Rebecca. "Water's not gonna 'ave an effect on it, Rebecca." He tapped his mechanical arm twice. "Xylonian technology only wears out with time."
Rebecca's facial expression failed to change from its intense concern. John took a step forwards and suddenly took an unexpected plunge, disappearing beneath the surface of the water with an alarmed yelp.
"John!" Rebecca shouted in alarm. She waited only a heartbeat -when John failed to rise from the depths- before she leapt from the large rocks she had been climbing on to the spot where John had gone under.
Rebecca felt something tug at her as she searched for a sign of John. Her eyes burned from the salt of the seawater as she was pulled to the side. She surfaced after a short while in, judging by the absence of bright sunlight and cooler temperature, a subterranean cavern.
The young woman coughed seawater from her lungs, as she tried to make heads or tails of where she was.
A pair of hands set down on her shoulders and Rebecca abruptly turned around. Her burning eyes looked up and she saw the young man she was hoping to save.
"John!" She angrily splashed saltwater at his face. "If you're planning to shock me into labour then you're well on your way." She retorted.
John gave Rebecca a weak smile. "I'm sorry I scared yeh, Rebecca." He apologized sincerely. "I hadn't realized the undertow was as strong as it was." His weak smile met Rebecca's glare. He cleared his throat. "But… just take a look at where we are."
Rebecca sighed and looked around at the cavern. A gasp slipped from her lips.
In the dim turquoise light of the subterranean cavern hundreds of clear crystals glimmered. The cavern walls were smooth and the air was salty. Moss-like plants grew along the rocks at the edge of the pool in which they stood.
"It's beautiful." She murmured.
John nodded. He gently brushed a strand of hair from Rebecca's face as the young woman looked up at him.
After having been exposed to the heat of the day and the warm ocean, John's mechanical hand was just as warm as his natural one.
Rebecca met John's eyes and felt tears pour from her own.
"Rebecca?" John asked softly.
Rebecca turned away from John. "It's nothing…" She stated, her voice hoarse. "Just a bit of saltwater, that's all." She stubbornly wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm no fool Rebecca," John stated, setting a hand down on Rebecca's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Rebecca looked at John's hand and then looked at his face, her eyes still full of tears. She met John's gaze and saw the caring and compassion within them. She shook her head as she tried to force back sobs.
"I- I can't…" Rebecca balled her hands into fists. Her lips quivered and more tears poured from her eyes.
"Rebecca." John said softly.
Rebecca couldn't help but meet John's eyes at his voice.
John looked deep into Rebecca's pleading eyes. He wanted to help and comfort her. But he didn't seem to know how to do this. John's body seemed to act on its own accord as he cupped Rebecca's face with his hands and tenderly locked lips with the young woman.
Rebecca closed her eyes, the last of her tears falling from her eyes as she entwined her fingers in John's wet hair. They separated only to catch a breath before Rebecca's lips met John's.
Finally, Rebecca separated and looked into John's eyes. She smiled gently. Everything felt like was going to be all right.
The two young adults spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the cavern and eventually discovered a means of getting back outside. They continued along the coastline until they found the spot where John had left his jacket.
Exhausted from the day's exploits, the couple rested on the sandy beach, Rebecca in John's arms with his jacket draped over her.
"Rebecca…" John gently nudged the young woman.
"Hmm?" Rebecca blinked awake.
"Look," he looked past her at the horizon.
Rebecca followed John's gaze and gasped gently.
The sky seemed to have been painted every colour imaginable as the sun set against the crystal waves: from the vivid crimson of the sun to the deep blue-violet of the night sky.
Stars peppered the sky as the sun sank beneath the waves of the ocean. The colours faded into the darkness of the Etherium until night had finally set in.
Rebecca let out a breath that she hadn't known to be holding, and looked at John. She smiled. "Words simply can't describe it, John…" She brushed her hand against the side of his face. "Thank you."
"There's one wish on a comet's tail that got teh come true." John smiled broadly.
The young adults stood from the beach and began to make their way home. John set his jacket over Rebecca shoulders as she walked beside him; her hand clasped with his.
Author's Note:
Thank you, Whisperwings.
MG#6