That Sacred Arrangement....

[all7seas]

Who: wise_maiden and lists_to_port; We are leaving this log WIDE OPEN. So if you are family or friends, you are invited and may mingle or gossip or be all dressed up or get drunk or do the electric slide or WHAT HAVE YOU. Are there any Wedding Crashers in Luceti? Ha!
What: Wedding
When: Monday afternoon
Where: That spot with the lilacs by the river in that meadow west of the village. You know that spot---we know you know that spot.
Summary: Jack and Raine get married, and everyone ships it hard forever.
Rating: G I expect? It's so hard to tell sometimes.



On the morning of his wedding, Jack sat bolt upright in bed and then vomited onto the floor. Several minutes after that were spent dry-heaving and gasping for breath, and then another several minutes crawling to the bathroom to put his head under the shower. Cold water---it brought back reality and rationality, and erased dreams of being a pirate and dying in some war and having a best mate and a lover who had always been forbidden him---ever since Jack Horner's lesson and the two weeks following it.

Sparrow figured it was a case of wedding nerves. Strange dreams were a new thing for him, after all--normally he slept dreamlessly and woke up alert.

Later, as he stood in the quiet meadow he and Raine had chosen for their ceremony among the fragrant lilac trees, that morning dream was forgotten. Sparrow was calm. Happy. Clean-shaven and dressed in the attire Buffy had picked out for him and eagerly waiting for his beautiful bride.

Comments

[all7seas]

"Not so much...........aye. Troubles." He closed his eyes and leaned into that touch.

But it wasn't troubling so much as exciting and somehow right that he'd dreamed of piracy, of flying before the wind on a proud ship. And he'd accomplished most of his greatest feats without using violence.

[wise_maiden]

"Or was there something else...?" At least his dreams seemed straightforward in that regard, though here they were focusing on them when they had already clarified that they weren't important.

[all7seas]

"No. No, lass---nothing else." He sat up abruptly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'll fetch you your water, shall I?"

[wise_maiden]

"... Understood." She gives him a gentle smile, curling back for a moment. "I apologize for pressing. It's nothing to worry about, after all."

[all7seas]

"Nah---nothing at all." Except for the fact that, just after he woke, he so badly wanted these dreams to come true. When Sparrow returned with the water he sat on the edge of the bed and handed it to her.

"For you, love."

[wise_maiden]

"Thank you." The water would help, she hoped, with that post-waking up dizziness. She pulled herself back up to a sitting position to take it from him, looking around the room again, taking the scene in and trying to push away any lingering feelings of discomfort. Their room.

[all7seas]

"Not used to the drinking, are you. Or the---"

Or what they had done together, which while hazy in the pirate's mind was also a very pleasant recollection. Why in the world was this conversation suddenly turning so awkward? They were a married couple. It should feel more...right, than it did.

[wise_maiden]

"It's just... been a long time, that's all." It made sense; it wasn't as if she had any reason to drink or... be with anyone after having the children. There had been no one else.

[all7seas]

"I'm not complaining darling, or anything of that nature..."

[wise_maiden]

"No, but there's something that you aren't saying." She begins to take a slow careful sip, but it turns into a longer one. Thirsty.

[all7seas]

But the frustrating thing is that Jack cannot articulate that strange premonition or discomfort or whatever-it-is. He can't put words to the not-rightness of this, even if he did enjoy it immensely.

Instead of trying, he lies down beside her again and rubs her back comfortingly.

[wise_maiden]

She's quiet while she continues drinking. Water was good--not that it made things any clearer, but it was cold, refreshing.

"Our first morning together. It's so... quiet out here."

[all7seas]

"It is a quiet place; I don't know how I endured it, before. Too busy with work I expect, but I still felt it keenly at times."

[wise_maiden]

"It won't be too quiet for much longer, once our boys have finished moving in." She does give a soft chuckle. "Though I think it suits us just fine for now."

[all7seas]

That laugh was reassuring. Jack was fond of the boys as well, even though he had been so absent throughout their childhoods. He dug his fingertips into the skin of her shoulders, lightly massaging the muscles there. Jack wanted his wife to be happy--that still held true, even in the lingering confusion and aftereffects of strange dreams.

Shifts---that was all they were. Nothing more.

[wise_maiden]

There's tenseness there, in her shoulders; tenseness that shouldn't be, of course, but that is because his new wife always strives to keep the troubling thoughts and fears carefully hidden, out of sight.

The dreams of her mysterious paintings as places come to life. Visions of a small, silver haired child at her side--one that looked nothing like her children, or even Mithos. Who was that boy? Traveling from place to place. But always: that boy.

The feeling of being despised, most of all, in the eyes of strangers.

It all flows back to her, in the silence. "What shall I fix you for breakfast?"

[all7seas]

"Not a thing. What shall I fix you for breakfast?"

[wise_maiden]

"Perhaps we could make breakfast together?"

[all7seas]

"No---I want to do this for you." He slid out of bed again and pulled his trousers on. "I feel I should do something for you, this morning."

[wise_maiden]

"You're always so good to me." Raine shakes her head a little, though smiles. "All right then. I won't argue. Waffles will be fine, you know--or you can just surprise me. I'm not horribly picky, promise."

Besides, she probably should shower, herself.

[all7seas]

"For you? Anything." He bowed over her hand and kissed her knuckles before heading to the kitchen. Luckily he had stocked the place before the wedding, so there were plenty of waffle-making ingredients. Soon enough a very delicious waffle-y smell is floating through the house.

[wise_maiden]

"I'm looking forward to it."

While he makes the waffles, she finally gets out of bed properly. Her eye falls on one of those paintings, but she shakes her head from it, moving toward the bathroom to shower, anyway, finding soft towels, fresh clothing and a bathrobe from one of her yet-unpacked crates along the way. She still felt a little off, but she was sure it would pass as the day continued. Nothing to worry about.

[all7seas]

Once the food was set out on the table, Jack went wandering in search of his wife. He found himself instead with one of her paintings in his hands. He realized he had never really taken the time to examine her work, but this was filling him with a very strange feeling indeed: instead of giving him insight into the woman he married, it was only making him feel more distant from her.

How well do I really know her after all? was the ultimate reaction.

[wise_maiden]

Operation: take a shower, had taken Raine a little longer than she had intended, for varying reasons. She was distracted, for certain, by tiny nagging thoughts, but she instead chose to focus on the shower itself, shoving those thoughts in the back of her mind. Things felt... good, but also a little sore. Different. She wasn't sure what to make of that feeling, but it was another she shoved aside--not today.

Eventually she emerges, all clean and fresh and dressed in slippered feet as she goes in search of him, finding him looking over those paintings.

"... Jack?"

[all7seas]

"Love." He put the painting down abruptly and went to her. "Breakfast's ready."