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| New town, new people; so far Rachel and Rhett | |
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| Topic Started: 24 Apr 2007, 05:44 PM (236 Views) | |
| Brendan | 24 Apr 2007, 05:44 PM Post #1 |
A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rhett Morgan. So... this was Port Royal? Rhett kept his eyes and ears open, as he walked through town. He knew the town was somewhat well guarded by actual marines, but it still wasn't as proper looking as the country he had come from. Plus it was much warmer over here, he even considered taking off his coat but decided not to. They'd mistake him for being any other person, and Rhett Morgan wasn't just any other person. He was or wanted to be the infamous pirate hunter Rhett Morgan, gaining fear and glory for what he did. He smiled to himself, while wondering if people had actually heard about him over here. He wouldn't mind that. He came to a more busy part of the town, it appeared to be the actual center of the city. He passed through a large market, and walked to the part where people sold food. Here he bought an apple, and cleaned it in his coat. Nice apple, it was actually shining now. He was surprised that they actually had such fine apples in the Caribbean. Apparantly they did, he thought with a smile and took a bite. Sweet too... very sweet like the young woman just passing him, making him turn his head to look after her. The woman saw it and lowered her eyes, and he gave her an approving nod with a charming smile. the eating an apple and smiling to beautiful young women, caused Rhett to forget to watch where he was going. This wasn't the first time, and probably not the last either. He suddenly walked into something soft, and stumbled a few steps backwards... now he saw it wasn't something, but someone and even a woman at that. "Apologies, I forgot to look where I was going... are you alright?" he asked politely. |
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| Brendan | 24 Apr 2007, 05:44 PM Post #2 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rachel Brooks. With a basket over one arm, a toddler nestled in the crook of the other, and Abigail clinging to her skirts, Rachel struggled her way through the dusty streets. The day was not yet at its height, but it was already warm. Even after two years on this island, she still was not used to the weather - year-round sticky summer heat, except when the storms rolled in around autumn. That first year the Brooks had arrived just ahead of the hurricane season, and Small Itzhak Brooks had arrived right during the middle of it. She kissed the top of Itzhak's feathery, sparse brown hair and hummed low in her throat. Her little family had had to make bricks without straw those first few months, living on what little came through pawning John's more portable valuables, but in the end they had pulled through. And now Rachel owned a small house of her own, a few chickens, and soon she would buy a milk cow. Business was good, and she spent wisely. Today she was out shopping, her basket half-full of brightly coloured tropical fruits, mangoes and pineapples. Fruit was cheaper if you bought it green. The mangoes were a little immature, but if she put them at the back of her cupboard with the darkening banana she had also purchased, they would ripen within a couple of days. It was a trick she had picked up a long time ago. She was also out to look at the merchants and craftsmen in the area, for it was about time for Samuel to be 'prenticed out. He was only twelve, but her eldest son was tall for his age and had a good, sensible mind, unlike most of the boys in Port Royal. He was a credit to his father's upbringing, and Rachel's strongest helper. He was ready to be an apprentice, but Rachel was not nearly so ready to let him go and live in another man's house. Without Sam, she did not know quite how she could manage in this land. Her other children were not so settled. Small Itzhak crawled everywhere, and seemed to have an innate talent for getting into everything he shouldn't if not watched a hundred percent of the time. Abigail was a wild girl and despite all Rachel's attempts to impress proper behaviour on her, she was still far too bold and careless. And Susan... Wrapped up in her own considerations, she nevertheless still paid attention to where she was headed. However, Rachel failed to look about her to see where other people were headed, and so a fellow ran straight into her shoulder, knocking her off-balance and sending her basket to the ground as she dropped it to catch a closer hold of Small Itzhak. The fruit she had just bought rolled away in every direction in the dust, picking up inevitable dirt and bruising. The overripe banana landed unluckily and squashed under her foot as she stumbled to regain her footing. Rachel's foot shot out from beneath her, and she landed hard in the road on her rear, still clutching Itzhak, who screwed up his face and began to cry. Abigail leaped out of the way and then rounded on Rhett. The seven year old girl indignantly stared at him, and opened her mouth, until Rachel's hand shot out and grabbed her by the collar, stifling whatever Abigail had been going to say. Having pushed herself upright already, she placed Itzhak in his sister's arms and turned on Rhett herself. "You most certainly did," she agreed with him dryly. "I am not as fragile as all that, but look what you have done to my fruit! You have spoilt it entirely." She gave Rhett a level stare, assessing him quickly. The man was clearly a sailor, and a wealthy one too - a ship's officer, probably, judging by the fine make of his sword and actually the simple fact that he had a sword at all. Therefore, since he could obviously afford it, he owed her some new fruit. If he did not shortly think of it and offer it of his own accord, she would tell him so. |
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| Brendan | 24 Apr 2007, 05:45 PM Post #3 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rhett Morgan. He looked around, inside knocking himself up for not looking where he was going. He was almost certain that the woman would have him buy an entirely new basket with fruit for her. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair as he straightened up properly again - looking at the scenery in front of him. A woman with two children at her skirts, one not old enough to walk around on his own. The girl was cute, she'd turn into a beautiful woman one day - in many years to come, probably. The woman on the other hand, looked like the type he usually tried to avoid. Protective of her children, and usually very tender about them; too tender to allow herself to have fun. She was probably even married. he looked around them, then at her again. "Please accept my apologies madam - but I only arrived to Port Royal today, and I was busy looking at the beautiful scenery around me." he said with a little smile, it wasn't like he had been looking at buildings or trees. But many women could be seen as beautiful scenery too. He just had to learn to control it, which he'd tried to learn ever since that woman took his virginity. He always wanted more, and usually he got more too... he then noticed how the woman seemed to wait for him to say something more, clearly also examineing him to figure out who he was. "I assume I owe you new fruit?" he clapped his pocket, to make sure there was something in it. There was, but he'd have to go hunting soon again. Especially if he kept running into women and spoiling whatever they bought at the market. Had she been younger and without children, he would probably have tried to seduce her and make it up to her in an entirely other way. But he wouldn't, not with this one. He smiled to her. "...and a sugarcane for the children perhaps?" he said and looked at the girl with a grin. She replied with lowering her eyes with a little giggle too. But right now it was the mother who mattered, and he looked at her again - if he didn't make this woman smile she'd be at him for the rest of the day, he was certain of that. |
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| Brendan | 24 Apr 2007, 05:56 PM Post #4 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rachel Brooks. The apologies meant very little to Rachel; apologies and explanations never did anyone any good, not did just being ashamed of yourself for carelessness. So she was not disposed to think of Rhett any more kindly for them, and continued to keep her eyes fixed squarely on his and her own mouth closed, clearly waiting for him to say something else. He seemed to be perceptive of it, but it took him a couple of moments to decide what to say, while he studied her and the children. Evidently he was not favourably impressed by what he saw. Something in their looks apparently displeased him, although his eyes lingered on Abigail and his mouth twitched upwards in a smile as the girl put out her tongue at him. Then Rhett figured out what Rachel was expecting him to say, and made the offer she would have forced him into otherwise. Good. Now she had to take stock of exactly what she had lost, and how much she could make him pay for in return. Rachel was a savvy woman, and if she could get Rhett to buy more fruit than she had actually lost, she would not be above doing that. As damages for the dust in her skirt and for having to quiet Itzhak down. He was really starting to scream his lungs out now. She took Itzhak back from Abigail and nodded to the basket; the little girl picked it up while Rachel bounced Itzhak in her arms and crooned softly to him. "Ei, ei, my little one, stop this nonsense." Singing wordlessly and low, she blew at his nose and smiled at him, ignoring Rhett for the moment. As Rachel calmed the toddler, the attention and the warm sound of her voice causing Itzhak's wails to subside into gurgles and at last to end in a wide smile, Abigail had given the stranger a second look-over and a second chance. When he offered the promise of sugarcane, he had won Abigail over completely; she gave him a smile, shyly at first, and then giggled. "Sugar-cane is good, but Itzhak can't eat it. He is too stupid to know how to suck it properly. You should buy it just for me." The girl's face widened to a grin. Rachel overheard and frowned down at Abigail, then looked back at Rhett and caught his hopeful smile. She rewarded his perception with a slight smile of her own, and then fired off a list of the items he owed her without further ado. "Seven good mangoes, three pineapples, and a bunch of bananas." Abigail piped in again, ignoring her mother's frown, and added, "And six sticks of sugarcane! I'm Abigail Brooks. Who are you, mister?" |
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| Brendan | 24 Apr 2007, 06:37 PM Post #5 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rhett Morgan. Rhett sighed, this was most definetly not how he had planned to spend his first day in Port Royal. But here he was, and he had clearly made a new friend in the little girl. That was a good start - win over a woman's children, and it was nearly certain that you'd make friends with the woman too. Although he would never have planned to make friends with such a woman in the first place, had it not been for another. He smiled to the girl. "I'll do that..." he was interrupted by the woman who then told him the list of what he would need to buy for her. He then remembered he had also lost his own apple, and decided on buying a new one, now he was at it. When the mother was done, the girl began talking to him again. Wasn't that just cute? In ten years perhaps, but right now he didn't care much for children at all - and right now, she was nothing more than that. But he better not show that. "Six sticks? That's a lot of sugercane, are you sure your mother is good with that?" he asked and looked to see if they were ready to walk back into the crowd of the market and buy... all those fruits the mother could probably remember by herself, for Rhett had already forgotten the numbers. Mostly because of his newfound friend, who kept talking to him. "Pleased to meet you miss Abigail." he said with a nice grin to her, as if she was older than she was. Children loved to pretend they were older than they were. "I'm captain Rhett Morgan, nearly just arrived from England." he replied and looked at the mother again, and motioned them to begin walking into it all. "So... mrs. Brooks, I assume you know this market much better than me. You must know where to get the finest fruits." he said and waited patiently for her to lead the way. |
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| Brendan | 30 Apr 2007, 04:37 AM Post #6 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rachel Brooks. Rachel raised one eyebrow at Abigail when she interrupted, but the girl went cheerfully on, a hopeful light in her eyes brightening when Rhett seemed to be actually willing to buy her said six sticks of sugarcane. She jumped forwards and caught his hand, swinging it up and down between both of hers in a wildly vigorous handshake. "Hello, Mister Morgan. I mean, Captain Morgan. I came from England too, but longer ago. Two years ago actually. Is that a real sword? Why don't you have a gun? All proper sea captains have guns, you know. And cutlasses. What kind of ship do you have?" Chattering away without giving herself the room to take a breath, she ignored her mother until Rachel stepped forwards and put one hand on Abigail's shoulder. The girl fell silent, looking guiltily up; she knew perfectly well that she was being rude. "I do, Captain. Your pardon for not introducing myself. Mrs. Brooks, as you guessed." Not being particularly inclined to waste time, either hers or Rhett's, she began to walk as she spoke, drawing Abigail after her by the hand. The girl held the now-empty basket over her other arm, and trailed along quietly now - until they passed a merchant's booth that dripped with raw sugarcane. She pulled at her mother's hand, looking from the sugarcane to Rhett and back again. Rachel answered before Rhett could. "Absolutely not. Six sticks, all for you and none for your siblings? What kind of greedy-guts hog have I raised here?" She took Abigail by the ear and shook it gently, not enough to hurt, but solidly getting the child's attention. "Your teeth would rot right out of your head, and you would deserve it too. I must apologize for this little glutton, Captain Morgan. Right now I am almost ashamed to say that she is my daughter." Abigail scraped the dirt with her toe in circles, looking down at the ground, but wasn't chastened for long. She gave up on the hope of the sugarcane, knowing that her mother would not budge from her position, but shortly afterwards pulled ahead of them, pointing out a fruit stand overflowing with all kinds of produce. At least, all kinds that could be grown in the Jamaican climate, or shipped safely over sea; that meant no pears, nor apricots, nor such softer fruits, but plenty of papayas, mangos, bananas, cocoanuts, pineapples, and a few barrels of ridiculously expensive imported oranges and apples standing about. Rachel acquiesced to this, allowing Abigail to pull free of her hand and dart ahead to the fruit stand. Rachel bent over the mangos, feeling the flesh with her fingers for the best quality specimens. While her mother was occupied, and not paying attention, a look of sly cunning stole over Abigail's face as she looked into the orange bin, and then she turned back and stole up to Rhett's side. In a low voice, trying not to let her mother hear her, she told him, "We had oranges too, Captain Morgan. In the basket." Half holding her breath, Abigail lied, "A whole dozen of them. And they all went rolling into the sewer, so now you have to replace them." Oranges were usually a prohibitive expenditure in the Brooks household. Rachel was not poor, but she could not afford to give her children such luxuries often. The Brooks children had such a treat at most once a year at Chanukah. |
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| Brendan | 30 Apr 2007, 04:37 AM Post #7 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rhett Morgan. He had to control his actions very much, deeeeep breaths... when the girl named Abigail seemed more and more interested in him. Actually, she was beginning to annoy him - he should never have paid attention to her in the first place. He looked at Rachel thankfully when she put a hand on Abigails shoulder, causing the child to shut up. He didn't have to answer all those questions, and he especially didn't have to answer to a child! 'All proper sea captains have guns', well he wasn't just a sea captain, he was Rhett Morgan and he didn't need a gun. Shiny blades were so much more fun than guns, did Abigail know that? Had she seen how a perfect cut to the throat would cause a slow death, with blood streaming down on the deck? Probably not! And she would probably never see it either. And now he discovered he was upsetting himself, when Rachel spoke and began to walk. They stopped at a booth with sugarcane, where the mother told Abigail not to have any sugarcane at all. He felt a bit sorry for her, he had promised the girl sugarcane but not six sticks though - only if it was alright with the mother, and it clearly wasn't. He couldn't blame Abigail for wanting sweets, girls who liked sweets turned out to be sweet women. He wondered if mrs. Brooks had an older daughter, who perhaps wasn't as talking as Abigail. He wouldn't mind that. "Oranges?" he said when they stood at the fruit stand and Rachel took a closer look at all the fruits. He didn't remember seeing any oranges around them, when he first bumped into Rachel. But now Abigail didn't get any sugarcane, and he had promised her that - and since he had decided that being on good terms with the girl meant being on good terms with the mother, he nodded. "Well you must find oranges too then..." he sighed and let the mother find the fruits while he took a closer look at the apples. Rhett sent a glance to the sky, he would just love to sit down at a tavern and have a nice meal with a nice young woman. He hoped that mrs. Brooks would soon have found the fruits she needed, so that he could pay and move on with the day. He just had a feeling that they might not let him go just yet, he didn't know why. |
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| Brendan | 30 Apr 2007, 04:38 AM Post #8 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rachel Brooks. Rhett was quite right in thinking that he never should have paid attention to Abigail in the first place. He had already encouraged her too much to have any hope of escaping from her. Rachel would keep her daughter under control as much as she could, but Abigail was fascinated by the stranger and his sudden silence in answer to her questions would not put her off. Especially not now that he'd agreed to buy them oranges. The greedy light in Abigail's eyes brightened, and she added, "And we had apples too. And...strawberries. But strawberries are so hard to find here. We got the last of them. So you'll just have to buy us something else instead. You could buy me a new dress!" Then Abigail stopped for a moment, and seemed to consider something. She was, just now, feeling just the least bit guilty - her mother's words from earlier were resounding in her head. To assuage her conscience, she amended her last request to, "Actually you could buy everyone in the family new dresses, except for Samuel. He's a boy so he wears pants." Then, now that the conversation had gotten around to clothes, she paused for thought and peered up at Rhett. "Say, why don't you dress properly anyways? Captains should have hats and fancy coats. Everyone knows that. At least, proper captains should. I guess you're not a proper captain, though, are you? Are you a pirate, Captain Morgan? There was a pirate named Captain Morgan." Then her eyes brightened even more with curiousity and interest as she seized upon this idea. "Are you really Henry Morgan?" At this point in time, fortunately for Rhett's sanity and probably Abigail's tender young ears, Rachel called Abigail over to her side. Quickly, the girl scooped oranges into the basket, also throwing on a couple of apples, and hurried over to her mother's side. As she dropped the mangoes she had chosen to in the basket, Rachel's fingers brushed the oranges, and she took one out, looking at it quizzically. "Abigail, what is this?" The girl darted a glance backwards at Rhett, and said in as low a voice as she thought she could get away with and still avoid provoking her mother's suspicions, "He bought them for me...us, because he's a very nice and friendly man. Since you wouldn't let him buy the sugarcane, he thought the oranges would be better for us." Rachel stared shrewdly at her daughter, who met her eyes boldly for a moment, and then dropped her gaze and shuffled her feet. "Ay!" Rachel exclaimed in real dismay. "You have been lying, Abigail, I can see it in your face. Don't shake your head at me." She put one finger under her daughter's chin and tilted it up, but Abigail refused to look straight at her and darted her eyes first to one side and then the other. "We will discuss this later, Abigail. I am disappointed in you. I expect my children to be honest, not to lie to strangers and especially not to their own mother." Taking the oranges from the basket, Rachel headed for the bin from which they had come and promptly replaced them, as well as the apples. Then she turned to Rhett. Abigail, afraid of what the man might do once he learned that she had lied to him, was still on the other side of the fruit stand, and now ducked down so that he could not see her. "Once again I am sorry, Captain Morgan. I understand that my daughter has lied to you." Rachel spoke with genuine humiliation, and set the fruit - all of the fruit - aside from the basket. "I will not ask you to pay for this anymore. I have tried to raise her better, but she shames me for all my efforts." Upon hearing this, Abigail picked up her head from behind the fruit stand, and she took on a hangdog appearance. Slowly, she made her way around and faced her mother and Rhett, staring resolutely at the ground. "I'm sorry, Captain Morgan. My mother shouldn't have to say that. I did lie about the oranges. And about the other stuff too. Um. Pleasedon'tbemadatmeIknowyououghttobeandI'msorry. And my mother needs the fruits." Then, bright red in the face, Abigail darted off into the crowd as fast as she could go. Rachel stood there stunned for a moment, then panic crossed her face. Abigail could easily get lost, or kidnapped, or...anything could happen. Without a further word, she darted off after her daughter, dropping the basket next to Rhett. |
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| Brendan | 30 Apr 2007, 04:38 AM Post #9 |
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A Legend. In regimentals. Pwn.
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Originally posted by Rhett Morgan. Abigail was talking, and he didn't really think they had apples or even strawberries. He hadn't seen a single strawberry over here yet. He let her continue to talk, didn't really feel like answering her ideas about what he could buy. A new dress, for a girl who annoyed the hell out of him? Why on Earth would he want to do that? And it became worse, her little one-way conversation. His nice fake smile disappeared the moment she said he wasn't a proper captain and then quickly jumped to suggesting he was a pirate! Asking if he was Henry Morgan! He knew his father would have loved it if they were related to that infamous pirate, but Rhett just wouldn't believe it. "Abigail..." he said with a cold voice, staring at her with eyes matching the voice, feeling she needed to have explained a few things. His talk was slow, and completely directed at her. "Pirates are bad people, they do very bad things. They steal from other people, and that makes people very sad. I'm no pirate - what I do is try to make sure there are no pirates, and I'm pretty good at it." at this point he let his hand brush the top of his cutlass, planning to tell her exactly what such a thing could do, scare the child a bit so maybe she'd shut up. Luckily for Abigail, her mother called her over and they spoke together without Rhett being able to hear what they said. But the mother didn't look very pleased with her daughter. In fact she placed the oranges back again, and Rhett saw how Abigail tried to duck out of his sight. With her behaviour, he decided to tell her mother to keep a close eye on the girl - or else she might turn out a pirate herself one day. She was already lying, stealing and way too forward in her talking. Rachel came over to apologize for her daughter. He nodded as to accept the apology. He then saw how she removed all the fruit and didn't want him to pay for it. Inside he smiled, but he also felt sorry for her. She had two children of what he knew, and she didn't look like the most wealthy woman in Port Royal. But before he could say that he would pay anyway, Abigail came over to him again, and admitted her lie. Before he could reply to her, tell more about how dangerous it could be to lie to him... she was gone. And one moment later her mother was gone too, leaving Rhett standing alone at the fruit stand with their empty fruit-basket. He put a hand to his head, thinking he should just have given the woman some gold and left. Then he wouldn't be here... he figured he should follow, he ought to give Rachel her basket back - but there was just no way that he'd search the entire market with a basket over his arm! He then gave the basket to the seller, told the man to whom the basket belonged and then walked out to find Rachel to tell her where she could find the basket. This was turning into a very bad day... maybe, if he could spot someone else stealing something, he'd smile sincerely again. It was bright clear daylight, but he could so use a good kill right now. He then laughed to himself, Abigail would be the perfect choice for a good kill. She surely deserved it - but he hardly believed her mother would think the same. He wandered around at the market for awhile, trying to ignore the fine specimens of women around him. Then he thought he saw Abigail and darted that way through the crowd, and soon he was sure it was her. She appeared to not having seen him, and he smiled and stepped out in front of her. "Abigail... it's not very nice of you to leave your mother like that. I'll have to tell her to keep a closer eye on you - unless you're actually a pirate and I'll have to kill you." he said looking down at her... wondering if the child would think he was making fun, or if he was being serious. Rhett wasn't even sure himself what he was doing. He just knew she had been annoying and he had to pay her back somehow. |
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4:09 AM Jul 30
