Chapter 2: The Quickening

Save for his Uncle Francis, Jean loved no one. He had become jaded by love early in life, after his father had been brought before the king’s firing squad for treason. Andre Nau had been an advisor to the high counsel of King Louis XIV. Not exactly the King’s Ears – a position that he’d been vying for years – but a noble placement all the same. His undoing was primarily due to his greed for power, and an act of treason was all Jean had been told about his father’s death. Francis refused to speak about Jean’s father, but where politics or the king was concerned, an apparent disdain for both seemed to nauseate him to the point where he was physically incapable of further dilating upon Andre’s life.

It was generally the custom of the high court to offer monetary compensation to the surviving family members of those they inflicted with capital punishment. But, this rule did not apply to anyone found guilty of treason, which left Jean's mother and brothers destitute. The little money that was left after his father’s death was quickly used up, and shortly thereafter the entire family found themselves without a home, or food in their stomachs.

His mother, having no other means by which to support herself and three children decided that Jean's brothers would remain with her, as they were of working age. Jean, however, would stay in the care of his Uncle Francis until such time as she was able to find adequate housing and financial stability. She was still young, after all, and her looks were sure to land another husband in no time at all.

Jean was only four years old at the time of his abandonment, and could not yet understand the seriousness of the situation. He recalled waving a final good-bye to her as one might wave good day until afternoon tea, not then knowing there was the greatest likelihood that he would never see her again. It was better this way, his uncle had thought. Better that Jean had never known true resentment toward his mother, no matter the grievousness of the situation. But, as the years passed, he came to learn that his brothers had both been killed over ridiculous and petty quarrels. Jean's once proud and prosperous family had been reduced to the status of common street rabble, and what had become of his mother was virtually unknown.

In a letter she had written to Francis, she informed him that she had moved to Paris in hopes of finding a wealthy husband. The letter was received two months after the fact, and that was the last anyone had heard from her. Francis envisaged his sister failing in her matrimonial quest and becoming nothing more than a vulgar street w***e, but he never divulged this assumption to Jean. It was sufficient that Jean simply thought his mother was dead. Whether this was the truth of the matter was of no concern to either Jean or Francis. Jean was in his care now, and that was all the information needed.

Time went on, and Jean began to show great potential in his academic studies. He was a smart boy with a level of concentration that bordered upon the obsessive. This was a family trait that Francis had been counting on in order to introduce him to Pierre Duchamps, the man under whose command Francis had sailed around the world, and with whom he’d helped to rid France’s waters of the invading Spanish navy. Pierre himself had been the one responsible for Francis' tutelage and he had taken Francis under his wing as though he were his own son, despite the fact that they were roughly the same age.

On the day that Jean had the unmediated displeasure of meeting Pierre for the first time, the air was crisp and fresh from a hard Spring rain that had bombarded them earlier that morning. The ground was slick with mud as the two came face to face. He was a fairly tall man with ruddy and weathered skin, an obvious sign that he’d spent too many days in the sun. Francis had not divulged much to Jean about Pierre, other than the fact that he’d sailed under him during the war with Spain, and that he’d never known another man with whom he could entrust his life.

Pierre stood before the two of them, eyeing his small frame as though he were sizing him for his oven. Jean tentatively reached out to shake the man’s hand, as his uncle had instructed was the socially polite thing to do, yet this time his uncle smacked his hand away. Pierre's hand remained at his side.

“We are well met, mon petite,” said Pierre, “but your first lesson is that a soldier will never allow his sword hand to be taken from his guard.”

“Lesson?” asked Jean.

“Yes, petite, and what a grand lesson this shall be. A man never forgets his first exercise with a blade,” he said, “nor the man who served as his teacher, yes Francis?”

“Aye, sir.” Jean's uncle never referred to anyone as ‘sir’ and it shocked Jean to see his guardian act with such deferment toward another man. No matter the tenuous knowledge that Jean had garnered about Pierre, Jean ventured that he must be a man of some respect for his uncle to hold him in such honor.

“What’s this about a lesson?” Jean asked again. “And, what of a blade?”

“Well, you’ll not see the likes of a blade anytime soon, cher garçon, but a piece of wood will suffice for yer callow hands until you’ve gained a bit of respect for your weapon,” Pierre looked him over again, then added, “and for yourself.”

“But, sir, I already have self respect,” started Jean.

“You’ll have nothing until I give it to you!” Pierre suddenly yelled, moving closer to Jean's face. “Is that understood, fish?”

The smell of the man’s hot breath on his face prompted Jean's mind to begin what he had come to call ‘the big slowdown’. Although he didn’t completely understand this condition, he did know that it only seemed to happen when he was under a great amount of stress. The man had threatened him and this had first caused his voice to slow down and change in its pitch. Then came the motion of everything around him; Pierre, his Uncle Francis, the birds in the sky and even the growing grass under his feet. This deceleration did not, however, slow Jean's reaction time in the least. Time slowed down in order to afford him the forethought to his next move. A fly had buzzed through the space between Pierre and Jean's faces. As quick as lightening, yet to him it seemed rather insignificant, Jean moved to swat it away and caught the creature in the palm of his hand.

Pierre's face, though attempting to remain stern in front of his student, showed signs of a small grin at the corner of his mouth. Jean knew this was a feature that he wouldn’t have noticed had his mind been moving in real time. Jean watched as Pierre's eyes slowly moved toward Francis.

“Ah! I see he has the curse, Francis. He has your blood after all!” they chuckled, and for Jean, the world began to quicken once again.
 

Reviews

[J. James Reider]

the curse... I think I have it too... lol... I tend to see everything! great description of this hyper alertness, though I think this chapter should be longer to substanciate the length of the first chapter... maybe not, I am looking a two chapters, not the whole scheme of things... you are really getting your readers attached to Jean for only turning him into the animal he will inevitably become... this chapter was really solid and followed up the previous chapter nicely... it is fun to mix fiction in with facts to see where the story leads and from someone who knows nothing of the history of pirates, or even likes the dirty b******s for that matter, I am thoroughly intersted in where this is going... keep it up!

[cyanskye]

Great job. I like the beginning back story of Jean' s life. Everything flowed well and the dialoge was good.
I got a good feel for Jean and Francis in chapter one. I would love more description - is Pierre a big boisterous man or a thin weaselly guy? I think introducing more info/history of sword fighting could be sprinkled here as well.

[alternative_be]

I like the way you provide your readers with a background on your main character! This is of the utmost importance for the reader, in order to understand the story and explains what is yet to come... another way to get your audience attention and encourage them to keep on reading your work or awaiting the next chapter.
This chapter is explanatory and educational in itself without coming boring!
It never ceases to amaze me! The title, the quickening, is very well chosen, because it will remind loads of people of the Highlander films and series, yet you do what you promise in your introduction: take the romancing out of the pirate topic and stick to realistic historical material!
In doing so, you keep on proving that historical facts are not boring per se.
I hope, that by reading your novel, people will take an interest in history as a subject, which is too often forgotten in our modern society, and learn to appreciate it's value again.
About the ending of this chapter: I can imagine that it comes as a shock to our protagonist to find out that his hero, his minder, his protector ... the person that he looks up to, to discover that that person, his uncle, also has his 'superior person' that he looks up to!
You have me hooked here, keep on sending reading requests on this one!

This was a good childhood flashback. I believe it could either continue, or while the present is happening flashbacks do come around (like the movie, a good year). Both ways, it seems to be working out fine.

[Jeb]

Well written once again. It was an excellent idea to follow up all of the action of the first part with more in depth character development in this section, it sets up for the remaining story very well. Keep on going!

[Genie]

Oh, this is going to be good! Well, it's already good and will just get better!

I do agree about the use of 'mon petit' (no 'e', which makes it feminine) from the review of the first chapter, but you can get around that with 'enfant' more. Unlike that reviewer, I think most of your French additions are fine and add the right flavor to the setting. I suggest, tho, that you make 'Francis' into 'Francois,' to continue with the French names.

Can't wait to see the next installment in this imaginative story!

[luthien7]

I love it, I'm absolutely hooked. The bit at the end between Pierre and jean, where Pierre recognizes the steel in his new student - very well done. Again, i wish I had some helpful suggestions, but you are doing a nice job here with the back story, letting the reader get to know your characters and appreciate the situations that bring them to present time in the story. Nicely done and I will keep reading if you will keep writing!

Thanks!

[yinseriv]

The promised foundation to ground me in the story after the heady action of the introduction. Well delivered; well wrote.

[Luke]

I have not read the previous chapter, but as far as i can see this book has great potential. I can't wait to find out what happens to young Jean. Keep writting, thanks!