Chapter 1 (part 3)

Continuing Ember's story

     Ember reached the hallway to her room and slowed to a walk.  It was then that she became aware of footsteps behind her.  She topped, and felt a hand clamp over her mouth.  A female voice whispered, "We need to talk.  Take me to your chambers."  Ember nodded, and the hand was dropped.

     "What do you want?" she asked, turning around.  A knife was immediately place at her throat.

     "You turn around and I slit your throat.  We wouldn’t want that, now would we?"

     Ember shook her head.  "But what do you want?  Who are you?"

     "Just walk!"  Ember obeyed.

     "In here," she said.  They walked in.

     "Close the door.  I’ll light your candles," said the female voice.  Once again, Ember obeyed.  "You asked me two questions.  My name is Camille Brown.  I noticed you conversing with my brother Johnny.  What do you think of him?"

     "You’re his sister?  How do you put up with him?  I barely met him and I already hate him!"

     Camille smiled.  "Good," she said.  "You can help me then."

     "What?  Help you with what?"

     "Dispose of my brother, of course."  She smiled at the look on Ember’s face, and continued.  "I’m also a pirate.  I was hoping you would join me.  With my brother gone, I get everything left to him by my father.  But if not, then I get nothing.  No one will blame me for his death, because I was just another pretty girl with mush for brains.  Do you understand now?  What do you say?"

     Ember hesitated.  "I don’t know," she said slowly.  "I’d have to think about it.  Could you give me a week?"

     Camille nodded.  "A week then.  Leave your answer in the form of a certain medallion down by the pier.  Can you do that?  Don’t worry.  You’ll get the medallion back soon enough."

     Ember gave a start.  "How did you know-"

     A knock at the door interrupted her. 

     "Who is it?" she asked.

     "It’s your father.  Ember, may I please come in?"

     She looked at Camille, who nodded.  "I’ll hide in your wardrobe," she whispered.

     "One moment!  I’m not decent!"  Ember called out.  She quickly threw on her dressing gown.  "You may come in now!"

     The door opened and in stepped her father.  "Ember I’m just here to say that-"

     "Don’t say it.  I’ll say it for you.  My behaviour was despicable, but I’m not apologizing for it," she interrupted.

     "That’s not at all what I came here for!  I came to apologize to you!  I was wrong tonight.  I had no right to bring them here, and then ensure that you became angry.  I’m sorry, Ember.  I’ve also decided that it’s time you were on your own.  I’ll give you a week to get used to the idea, and then I’m off.  I’ve already made plans for a very long journey, and it will be just you and Lucy.  I don’t know if I’ll ever return to this house again.  The house is yours to do with what you will," he said.

     "You would leave here without me, your only daughter, and then never return?  But why?"

     "Because I must.  This is something I feel I must do for both of us.  Marry whomever you wish, when you wish, just not Johnny Brown."  With that, he left.

     Ember shut her door, and Camille came out of hiding.

     "Wow.  Same thing happened to me.  So do you have an answer now?  Or are you still going to wait a week?"  Ember’s venemous look was her only answer.  "Okay.  The pier in one week’s time.  Don’t forget.  The medallion means yes.  Anything else means no.  Got it?"  Then she left.

     The next morning, Ember decided to to go for another walk on the beach and think about the events of the day before.  What would happen to her when her father left?  If anyone happened to look closely at her face they would see clear tears lining her face.  But there was no one, so no one saw.  At least, she thought no one saw.  One person did see.  The one person Ember didn’t want seeing her.

     Johnny didn’t even see her until he was almost upon her.  He ducked behind a tree when she turned around.  He peered out at her without her knowing.  That’s when he realized that this unfeeling shrew actually had deep feelings.  That’s when Johnny Brown lost his heart for the last time. 

     Her clear black eyes shone with tears, her lower lip trembled in an extreme effort to suppress her tears, her hair, dark as the night sky, blew behind her in the wind.  Johnny could barely suppress the urge to run over to her, lock her in a tight embrace, and apologize for the night before.  But how would that look on the record of an esteemed pirate?  In the end, morality and nobility won out over reputation.

     He stepped out from behind the tree and walked up to her.  Ember was momentarily startled, then her anger flared up and got the best of her.

     "What do you want?  To anger me more just so you can have another laugh?" she asked hotly.

     Johnny shook his head quickly.  "No," he replied.

     "Then what the hell do you want?"

     "To apologize," he whispered.

     Ember’s outburst was briefly quieted by his soft but firm statement, if only for a moment.  She quickly recovered and demanded, "You, Mister big, bad pirate, would smugde your awful name and reputation with a silly random act of kindness?  Why?"

     "Because what I did last night was wrong.  I wasn’t raised to treat a woman, any woman, that way.  I felt that I had to prove myself to your father, and to Camille; prove that I was in control of the situation, of you, and could curb your temper.  Please forgive me."  If the look on his face couldn’t convince her of his sincerity, then nothing ever would.

     Ember nodded.  Tears of hurt and anger welled up again and she turned away.  Johnny, mistaking her turning away for an insincere acceptance of his apology, grabbed her shoulders and tried to turn her back to him.  She tensed, trying to hide her sobs, but failed.

     "Ember, look at me," he said, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice, "please."  She turned around, and the look in her eyes broke his heart.  It was the same look he had seen in Camille’s eyes ten years earlier.  Then, he had known what was wrong.  Now, he could only guess.

     "Let go of me Johnny Brown.  Nothing you do now can help my father or me.  Because of you, your sister, and your gimmicks I am losing everything that I ever cared about.  I have no friends.  I never saw a need for them and my father never pushed for me to make them.  Now?  I have nothing but an old house and an old cook.  I will be alone.  Don’t say you understand.  How can you?  At least you were never left alone with no one.  You at least have Camille.  And you are capable of attracting people to you so you won’t be alone.  I have nothing.  No beauty, no grace, no charm.  Nothing!"  She looked up at the sky, now dark with storm clouds, and spoke to them.  "God?  Are you there?  If you are, please, I beg you!  Strike me down!  Make my breaking heart feel nothing more!"

     "Ember!  Get ahold of yourself!  How did you know...No, wait, don’t answer that.  You have more than you think.  You’re not alone.  Like you said, you have your cook.  You’ll also have Camille, and...and...me.  If you’ll have me that is."  This was said so softly that Ember thought she had imagined it, but the look in his eyes was proof enough.

     "You?" she asked incredulously.  "But why would you want me?  You proved your intense hatred of me last night!"

     Johnny shrugged.  "I don’t know.  Maybe because we have more in common than meets the eye.  Maybe because I am tired of being a pirate and want to settle down now, and you’re the girl who can help me."  His tone was hopeful, but Ember showed no hint of her feelings, only the tears streaming down her face.

     They stared at each other in silence for a while before Ember felt she had to say something or go insane.  "I promised my father I wouldn’t marry you.  Sorry," she said.  Then Johnny laughed, put his arms around her, and pulled her close.  "What?" she demanded, trying to get out of his embrace.

     "I’m sorry.  Hearing that from you, it sounded funny.  Now why would you promise your father that?" 

     "I don’t know.  He said I can marry anyone I choose, just not you.  So I won’t marry you, even if you ask me for the next twenty years.  Okay?"

     "You’ll change your mind, Ember.  I’m not going anywhere.  But if it does take you twenty years for your head to accept what your heart already knows, so be it.  I’ll wait," he said.

Author's Note

Ok, I don't really know how good it is (or how bad). Anything and everything you can give me would be absolutely great! Thanks to everyone who has been reading it so far. I am going to combine both parts of chapter 1 soon, and when I get the feedback from chapter 2, I'm going to combine them all with some necessary corrections.

Reviews

[Andromeda]

intriguing. your dialogue seems to be getting better. please read request me when you add more