Fic: Passages
Jul. 11th, 2012 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roh_ficsTitle: Passages (30/?)
Characters: Ayesha, Daniel (OCs); oblique mentions of Will and Djaq
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen, het
Warnings: None.
Notes: Ayesha and Daniel last appeared in Chapter 20, posted way back in December 2009!
Many thanks, as always to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hippie_girl_31 for the excellent beta work and the thoughtful suggestions. Many thanks also to all those who let me know they're actually reading this monster, and want me to finish it. :)
Summary: Ayesha and Daniel try to get to England, revealing a few things along the way.
Chapter 30. Remorse
Late May 1216
Reims, France
Ayesha's hands shook as she pulled her surcoat close around her. The rain that had pelted the town for days on end had finally relented, but her life seemed more bleak than ever. Daniel was gone, entrusting her to strangers who did not inspire any particular trust.
The rain had made the road too muddy for travel, but when the carters were ready to move again, they would set off. They were traveling to Zaragoza, and from there to Al-Andalus, where she would be returned to her father. As if I'm an old shirt he misplaced! She huffed in irritation, then adopted an indifferent expression, not wanting to give too much of herself away.
She looked around now at her traveling companions. At the head of their group was a man with sharp eyes set over a beaked nose and a cruel mouth. The others feared him, and he put Ayesha in mind of the husband of one of her older sisters. She'd never liked him either. The others were scarcely better and they stared at her as if she were a curiosity. One woman, an old crone, had smirked at her, and her eyes were far too knowing for Ayesha's comfort.
Although she ignored her, the woman nodded in her direction, and after a moment's hesitation, she sat down next to Ayesha. Reflexively, she moved out of the old woman's way, but a hand to her elbow kept her in place. The woman made a grunting noise and then winked at Ayesha, tearing off a hunk of the bread she was eating and handing it to her.
Ayesha took the food, surprised by the gesture, but the woman just shook her head and laughed. Ayesha had no idea why, but she sensed she'd found a friend, and made her gambit. “Help me,” she whispered. “I can't do this.”
–
Daniel sat at a table in the alehouse, not eating. He ran his fingers along a worn groove in the wood. He'd planned it all out in his mind, and by his reckoning, he would be at the Norman coast in about ten days. He had enough money to pay for passage on a boat to England and the final stage of the path he’d been on for four years. He was so close to sweet revenge, he could almost taste it, a coppery tinge of victory on his tongue.
But anxiety stirred in his stomach. England was a vast unknown, and he had so little information about the man whose life he was about to take. He had a name and a possible location, and the rest, he'd have to discover on his own. For all he knew, his quarry might elude him, safe in hiding somewhere. Or he might be dead, but Daniel refused to be defeated. Surely Allah would not have allowed him to come this far, only to rob him of victory at the very end.
He was going to kill his father, avenge his mother’s dishonor. But first he was going to see the man. For nearly his entire life, the word father had been foreign to him, a distant apparition, a thing too remote to be known. Once he'd realized that every child had a father, he'd become curious about his own. But his questions were met with stony silence from his mother and sadness from his uncle.
Most of what he knew about his father came from the vague rumors that swirled around Daniel. His light eyes and fair skin, although not unknown among the Muslims in Aleppo, were still remarkable enough to invite scrutiny. Only their noble rank and the strength of his mother's personality had kept Daniel from being the subject of public gossip.
Eventually he'd decided that his father had died young, leaving him behind as a legacy of sorts. His mother’s reluctance to speak of the man, Daniel put down to her immense grief. It was not until that fateful night in Baghdad that he'd learned the truth...
The sound of a hand slapping wood jolted Daniel out of his thoughts. An old crone loomed over him, her lips twisted in scorn.
"Are you mad?"
Daniel shook his head, confused. "I don't know what you--"
"The girl. We don't need her. We don't want her on our journey."
He sighed, finally understanding the woman. He put on his most reasonable tone. "Does it matter whether you want her? She needs to go somewhere, you're going there."
"You know nothing about men." The woman snorted. "And even less about women."
She crossed her arms and stared him down. "How do you know she will be safe? Because you paid a man?" She leaned so close that Daniel could feel her breath on his skin. "Will you be able to sleep at night, do you think, wondering what’s become of her?"
"I...I don't--"
"Don't be so willful. Listen to what I'm saying. And what I'm not saying." The woman cocked her head and studied him for a moment. "Do you understand?"
"No."
"You will." With that, the woman turned and walked away, leaving Daniel to call after her.
"Where is she?"
The crone laughed. "She said you'd know."
–
Ayesha sat in the barn's hayloft, staring at the sliver of sky that peeked out through a hole in the thatch. It was the first time since their arrival in Reims that the barn was neither cold nor damp. Indeed, it felt almost as warm as home, and she felt more content and happy than she'd been in years. She lay back on the straw and closed her eyes, exhaustion pulling her into the world of sleep. She slept fitfully and dreamed things she could not remember later, but by the time she woke, the sun had begun to set, turning her thatch peephole purple.
She frowned at it, letting worry creep back into her mind. Where was Daniel? Was he angry that she'd thwarted his plans? Had he left her to fend for herself? For all of his bullheadedness, Daniel was a kind man. Surely he'd understand why she couldn't go to Zaragoza, why she couldn't leave him in his hour of need.
And yet...
Daniel had made her no promises. He'd barely even acknowledged her friendship, much less admitted any tender feelings for her. And yet, and yet...
There were times when a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, when she looked in his eyes and saw more, a truth that made her believe they had a chance, that his gentler emotions could still prevail when he stopped pushing them into an untended corner of his heart. Daniel had built a fortress around himself. Its walls kept out whatever pain he was running from, but they also kept out joy, and she was determined to find the chink that would bring the wall down. If this meant braving Daniel's anger and disappointment, it was only a small price to pay.
She stood and dusted off her clothes, determined. But she was barely out of the hay loft when she heard boots sloshing in the wet muck below.
"Daniel?"
He shuffled towards her, but in the darkness, she could not make out his expression. He called out to her. "Are you...alright?"
To her surprise, there was no anger in his voice. Instead, he sounded relieved. She held a hand out to him, but as he staggered to her, she recoiled.
"Are you drunk?"
He lost his balance and fell on to his backside. "No." He tried to right himself, but ended up sprawled on the ground. "Or maybe yes. I didn't have that much."
Ayesha stared at him in confusion. "What happened?"
"Everything. Nothing." He laughed, a hollow and pathetic sound. "All I touch, all I want. It all ends up as nothing."
She tried to help him back to his feet. He shrugged off her help with a grunt. "Even you. I tried to send you away so you'd be safe. And even that didn't work."
"I'm sorry about that, Daniel. Truly. I just couldn't go."
He sighed. "I know. And I'm so sorry, Ayesha. I didn't think...didn't think how it would be for you. How dangerous." He swallowed hard around his words. "I'm a stupid man."
"No, no." She reached out a hand, and in the darkness, she stroked his cheek. "It's not your fault I'm so willful. You won't be rid of me so easily."
He took her hand away from his face, but held it for a moment before dropping it. "There are things I need to do, promises I have to keep. And other promises I can't make. Not now. Maybe not ever."
"I know."
"But I'm...not unhappy you're here, Ayesha."
"I know that too."
–
A month later
Valery-sur-Somme, France
It was all noise. The docks in the town groaned under the weight of goods and feet, and fishwives hawked their wares in rude, guttural tones that Daniel could barely understand. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Ayesha staring at the scene around her, eyes wide with awe. He smiled, amused by her despite his trepidation over his own plans and his worry for her future.
Ayesha nudged him. "Look over there." She stuck her chin out in the direction of a galley to the north, men swarming over it, loading bales and barrels and calling out loudly to each other. "They're too busy to notice. We could just sneak aboard and hide."
Daniel gave the ship a long look. Stowing away was a good way to travel. He'd done it before, and on a big vessel with several hands and passengers, it was easy to travel unnoticed. But Ayesha would attract too much attention, and Daniel did not fancy getting caught and thrown overboard before he reached England. He decided not to alarm her though.
"It's not a bad idea. But it might be better to pay our way on instead." Safer, certainly.
"We don't have any money, do we?"
He shrugged. "I could always sell my tools."
She gasped and he gave her a wan smile in response. "Won't be needing them where I'm going."
Ayesha frowned, brows knit together. "Maybe there's another way. It's a galley. We could help row it."
"They have oarsmen for that. Besides, they'd never let you row."
"No, but they might let you." Daniel saw a glint of mischief in her eyes, and before he could stop her, she'd pinched her cheeks to bring a bit of color to them and walked off in the direction of the galley. He had to run after her. Breath huffing, he caught up with her and tried to stop her. "Ayesha, what are you doing?"
She cocked her head to the side and grinned. "Something useful, I think."
–
Ayesha's boots squelched against the wood of the docks as she trotted over to the galley. Excitement warred with apprehension as she approached one of the deck hands. Her question about the captain was answered first with a grunt and then a leer. She rewarded his scrutiny with a withering look, prompting a shrug and a dismissal. The others on deck took little note of her, walking around her and sometimes hissing in irritation, and once, even with abject fear.
Confused, and after failing to get any particular attention from the crew, she cast her eyes back towards the dock where Daniel stood, arms crossed, caught between worry and amusement. Determined not to look stupid in his eyes, she braced herself and headed straight for the heavy-set man on the quarterdeck she assumed was the captain.
The man was bellowing orders at deckhands, and at first, he did not see her. But as he walked backwards off the deck, he nearly crashed into Ayesha.
He startled and swore roundly before speaking to her. "What on earth are you doing here, girl?"
Ayesha put her hands up defensively, and mustered her best French. "Nothing. Or nothing bad. I just wanted to make a request."
"Aye, yes. So does everyone. Speak it then, and quick."
"I'm looking for passage across the sea to England." She pointed at the docks. "For myself and my companion there."
"Your companion?"
"Yes, we've been traveling together. From Reims." That was true enough, Ayesha thought, even if it was not the entire story. She cast her eyes down and tried to look demure. “It would not be safe for me to travel alone, after all.”
The captain scoffed, not entirely convinced. He gave her a quick once-over and scratched his beard thoughtfully. "And how would you pay?"
She hesitated. "We could row the galley."
Her answer was met with a roar of laughter. "I have more men than I need for that sort of thing. And it's only two days to Pevensey, give or take a day. Not sure I need the help."
“Please.”
The captain cast a glance back at the docks. “Will you let me speak to your…companion first?”
Ayesha frowned. “Yes. But why--?”
“Send him up here then. And you, you stay off the deck until I say otherwise.”
She nodded, feeling like she’d just been scolded, without understanding why.”
--
Daniel watched Ayesha walk off the deck and back toward him, a frown on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and got a sad shake of her head in response.
By the time she reached him, the frown had been replaced by a thoughtful half-smile. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Who? The captain? Why?”
Ayesha shrugged. “You don’t have to talk to him. No sense begging. We should try something else.”
Daniel switched his attention to the galley, where the captain stood on deck, waiting. “I’ll go talk to him. It doesn’t hurt to try.”
He bounded up the gangplank, trying to look confident. He was barely on the deck when the captain pulled him up by the collar. He gave Daniel a sharp look.
“You want to tell me the truth, lad? And not just the story your lady friend gave me?”
Daniel kept his thoughts to himself, not sure what sort of tale Ayesha might have spun. The captain was not too bothered by his silence though.
He set Daniel back on his feet. “I’ll tell it to you straight. The girl’s well-born and you’re not. You’re obviously on the run, and her father’s probably coming after you.”
Daniel opened his mouth to explain but quickly shut it, realizing his version of the story would make no sense.
The captain’s look softened. “I don’t care what you’re up to. I was young once, and I’ve done stupid things in my time. But I can’t have a maiden on board. There’s a fear among the sailors, lad, that a maiden brings bad luck.
“So if you’re married to the girl, I’ll let you on board.”
Daniel shook his head. “No, she’s not my…I mean, we’re not—“
“Let me say it again. If you’re married, you can come aboard the ship.” He spoke the words slowly, and Daniel finally caught on.
“Alright then. I’d like to come on board. With…my wife.”
The captain chuckled. “There you go.” He reached into a pocket and withdrew a battered old coin. “Go buy the girl a ring. Makes your lie a better one.”
“No. I can’t pay you back.”
“Think of it as a gift then. A wedding gift.”
Daniel held out his hand for the coin, shame and guilt making his fingers shake.
“We set off at dawn, mind.”
Daniel nodded and walked away as the captain waved genially to Ayesha at the docks. She smiled back, but shot a confused look at Daniel.
He shrugged and handed her the coin. “Go buy yourself a ring.”
“A ring?”
“Yes. So everyone will think you’re a married woman.”
“Ah.” She closed her palm around the coin. “Married? That’s nice,” she added with meaning.
Daniel avoided her eyes. “It’s only a pretend marriage, Ayesha. Don’t get any ideas.”
She laughed and wandered off towards the town. He stared after her, trying hard not to imagine her as his real bride.
--
The galley rocked a little, but the sea was calm. By the captain’s estimate, they were about halfway across the English Sea, helped along by a northerly current. The galley had made good time during the day, and now the captain was content to boat the oars and give his crew a bit of rest.
On the deck, safe behind a stack of barrels, Daniel slept, his long frame stretched out over almost the entire space. Ayesha sat next to him, hugging her knees close and watching him.
It was not, of course, the first time she’d ever paid close attention to him. She’d watched him sleep many times. It was the only time in a day when he seemed at peace with himself, when the anger fell away and he looked like the lost young man he really was. She could see the real Daniel at times, as if there were a window into his mind that revealed itself only when he was asleep.
Besides, he was beautiful, and studying his face at close range was no chore. On an impulse, she raised a finger and began tracing the contours of his face, first his cheekbones and then his forehead. He began to stir and she stilled, waiting until he shifted and fell back asleep. She let her fingers trail over his face to his neck. At the open collar of his shirt, she paused and considered whether she’d gone too far. But he was still fast asleep, and her curiosity had won over her good sense a long time ago. Deciding no harm would come of it, she let her hand wander further south over his collarbones until her fingers came to rest over his beating heart.
Daniel’s eyes flew open and filled instantly with alarm. He jerked away from her, horror on his face as he pulled the collar of his shirt closed. “What are you doing?”
Ayesha looked away, chastised. But when the silence grew too long, she murmured, “I don’t know. I was just…curious.”
He gaped at her, as if she’d just confessed a horrible sin. She felt a familiar prickle of defiance. “I did nothing wrong.” He said nothing, but his expression remained, and Ayesha tried to deflect her guilt. “We’re on this journey together, and everyone thinks we’re married.” She reached out and touched his shoulder.
He swatted her hand away. “Ayesha! Stop being a child.” He spat the words at her, and she recoiled as if he’d struck her.
He seemed stricken too, as remorse crept into his face. His shoulders slumped, and he raked his fingers through his sweat-matted hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be angry with you. I told you before, there’s no future for you with me. I can’t give you what you need. I can’t promise you anything.”
“I don’t want a promise. I don’t need anything, Daniel.” Thinking she’d spotted a chink in his fierce armor, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his cheek, savoring her moment of victory when he leaned into her. But a moment later, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her gently away.
“Please. I need you to understand. This is what happened with my mother. My father played false with her.” The words came out in a rush, as if he’d thought them a thousand times. “He enticed her somehow, and then, at the first sign of a child, he abandoned her.”
His eyes were wild, full of fear and barely repressed rage. “I won’t do what he did, Ayesha. I’d rather die than be anything like him.”
--
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Characters: Ayesha, Daniel (OCs); oblique mentions of Will and Djaq
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen, het
Warnings: None.
Notes: Ayesha and Daniel last appeared in Chapter 20, posted way back in December 2009!
Many thanks, as always to
hippie_girl_31 for the excellent beta work and the thoughtful suggestions. Many thanks also to all those who let me know they're actually reading this monster, and want me to finish it. :) Summary: Ayesha and Daniel try to get to England, revealing a few things along the way.
Chapter 30. Remorse
Late May 1216
Reims, France
Ayesha's hands shook as she pulled her surcoat close around her. The rain that had pelted the town for days on end had finally relented, but her life seemed more bleak than ever. Daniel was gone, entrusting her to strangers who did not inspire any particular trust.
The rain had made the road too muddy for travel, but when the carters were ready to move again, they would set off. They were traveling to Zaragoza, and from there to Al-Andalus, where she would be returned to her father. As if I'm an old shirt he misplaced! She huffed in irritation, then adopted an indifferent expression, not wanting to give too much of herself away.
She looked around now at her traveling companions. At the head of their group was a man with sharp eyes set over a beaked nose and a cruel mouth. The others feared him, and he put Ayesha in mind of the husband of one of her older sisters. She'd never liked him either. The others were scarcely better and they stared at her as if she were a curiosity. One woman, an old crone, had smirked at her, and her eyes were far too knowing for Ayesha's comfort.
Although she ignored her, the woman nodded in her direction, and after a moment's hesitation, she sat down next to Ayesha. Reflexively, she moved out of the old woman's way, but a hand to her elbow kept her in place. The woman made a grunting noise and then winked at Ayesha, tearing off a hunk of the bread she was eating and handing it to her.
Ayesha took the food, surprised by the gesture, but the woman just shook her head and laughed. Ayesha had no idea why, but she sensed she'd found a friend, and made her gambit. “Help me,” she whispered. “I can't do this.”
–
Daniel sat at a table in the alehouse, not eating. He ran his fingers along a worn groove in the wood. He'd planned it all out in his mind, and by his reckoning, he would be at the Norman coast in about ten days. He had enough money to pay for passage on a boat to England and the final stage of the path he’d been on for four years. He was so close to sweet revenge, he could almost taste it, a coppery tinge of victory on his tongue.
But anxiety stirred in his stomach. England was a vast unknown, and he had so little information about the man whose life he was about to take. He had a name and a possible location, and the rest, he'd have to discover on his own. For all he knew, his quarry might elude him, safe in hiding somewhere. Or he might be dead, but Daniel refused to be defeated. Surely Allah would not have allowed him to come this far, only to rob him of victory at the very end.
He was going to kill his father, avenge his mother’s dishonor. But first he was going to see the man. For nearly his entire life, the word father had been foreign to him, a distant apparition, a thing too remote to be known. Once he'd realized that every child had a father, he'd become curious about his own. But his questions were met with stony silence from his mother and sadness from his uncle.
Most of what he knew about his father came from the vague rumors that swirled around Daniel. His light eyes and fair skin, although not unknown among the Muslims in Aleppo, were still remarkable enough to invite scrutiny. Only their noble rank and the strength of his mother's personality had kept Daniel from being the subject of public gossip.
Eventually he'd decided that his father had died young, leaving him behind as a legacy of sorts. His mother’s reluctance to speak of the man, Daniel put down to her immense grief. It was not until that fateful night in Baghdad that he'd learned the truth...
The sound of a hand slapping wood jolted Daniel out of his thoughts. An old crone loomed over him, her lips twisted in scorn.
"Are you mad?"
Daniel shook his head, confused. "I don't know what you--"
"The girl. We don't need her. We don't want her on our journey."
He sighed, finally understanding the woman. He put on his most reasonable tone. "Does it matter whether you want her? She needs to go somewhere, you're going there."
"You know nothing about men." The woman snorted. "And even less about women."
She crossed her arms and stared him down. "How do you know she will be safe? Because you paid a man?" She leaned so close that Daniel could feel her breath on his skin. "Will you be able to sleep at night, do you think, wondering what’s become of her?"
"I...I don't--"
"Don't be so willful. Listen to what I'm saying. And what I'm not saying." The woman cocked her head and studied him for a moment. "Do you understand?"
"No."
"You will." With that, the woman turned and walked away, leaving Daniel to call after her.
"Where is she?"
The crone laughed. "She said you'd know."
–
Ayesha sat in the barn's hayloft, staring at the sliver of sky that peeked out through a hole in the thatch. It was the first time since their arrival in Reims that the barn was neither cold nor damp. Indeed, it felt almost as warm as home, and she felt more content and happy than she'd been in years. She lay back on the straw and closed her eyes, exhaustion pulling her into the world of sleep. She slept fitfully and dreamed things she could not remember later, but by the time she woke, the sun had begun to set, turning her thatch peephole purple.
She frowned at it, letting worry creep back into her mind. Where was Daniel? Was he angry that she'd thwarted his plans? Had he left her to fend for herself? For all of his bullheadedness, Daniel was a kind man. Surely he'd understand why she couldn't go to Zaragoza, why she couldn't leave him in his hour of need.
And yet...
Daniel had made her no promises. He'd barely even acknowledged her friendship, much less admitted any tender feelings for her. And yet, and yet...
There were times when a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, when she looked in his eyes and saw more, a truth that made her believe they had a chance, that his gentler emotions could still prevail when he stopped pushing them into an untended corner of his heart. Daniel had built a fortress around himself. Its walls kept out whatever pain he was running from, but they also kept out joy, and she was determined to find the chink that would bring the wall down. If this meant braving Daniel's anger and disappointment, it was only a small price to pay.
She stood and dusted off her clothes, determined. But she was barely out of the hay loft when she heard boots sloshing in the wet muck below.
"Daniel?"
He shuffled towards her, but in the darkness, she could not make out his expression. He called out to her. "Are you...alright?"
To her surprise, there was no anger in his voice. Instead, he sounded relieved. She held a hand out to him, but as he staggered to her, she recoiled.
"Are you drunk?"
He lost his balance and fell on to his backside. "No." He tried to right himself, but ended up sprawled on the ground. "Or maybe yes. I didn't have that much."
Ayesha stared at him in confusion. "What happened?"
"Everything. Nothing." He laughed, a hollow and pathetic sound. "All I touch, all I want. It all ends up as nothing."
She tried to help him back to his feet. He shrugged off her help with a grunt. "Even you. I tried to send you away so you'd be safe. And even that didn't work."
"I'm sorry about that, Daniel. Truly. I just couldn't go."
He sighed. "I know. And I'm so sorry, Ayesha. I didn't think...didn't think how it would be for you. How dangerous." He swallowed hard around his words. "I'm a stupid man."
"No, no." She reached out a hand, and in the darkness, she stroked his cheek. "It's not your fault I'm so willful. You won't be rid of me so easily."
He took her hand away from his face, but held it for a moment before dropping it. "There are things I need to do, promises I have to keep. And other promises I can't make. Not now. Maybe not ever."
"I know."
"But I'm...not unhappy you're here, Ayesha."
"I know that too."
–
A month later
Valery-sur-Somme, France
It was all noise. The docks in the town groaned under the weight of goods and feet, and fishwives hawked their wares in rude, guttural tones that Daniel could barely understand. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Ayesha staring at the scene around her, eyes wide with awe. He smiled, amused by her despite his trepidation over his own plans and his worry for her future.
Ayesha nudged him. "Look over there." She stuck her chin out in the direction of a galley to the north, men swarming over it, loading bales and barrels and calling out loudly to each other. "They're too busy to notice. We could just sneak aboard and hide."
Daniel gave the ship a long look. Stowing away was a good way to travel. He'd done it before, and on a big vessel with several hands and passengers, it was easy to travel unnoticed. But Ayesha would attract too much attention, and Daniel did not fancy getting caught and thrown overboard before he reached England. He decided not to alarm her though.
"It's not a bad idea. But it might be better to pay our way on instead." Safer, certainly.
"We don't have any money, do we?"
He shrugged. "I could always sell my tools."
She gasped and he gave her a wan smile in response. "Won't be needing them where I'm going."
Ayesha frowned, brows knit together. "Maybe there's another way. It's a galley. We could help row it."
"They have oarsmen for that. Besides, they'd never let you row."
"No, but they might let you." Daniel saw a glint of mischief in her eyes, and before he could stop her, she'd pinched her cheeks to bring a bit of color to them and walked off in the direction of the galley. He had to run after her. Breath huffing, he caught up with her and tried to stop her. "Ayesha, what are you doing?"
She cocked her head to the side and grinned. "Something useful, I think."
–
Ayesha's boots squelched against the wood of the docks as she trotted over to the galley. Excitement warred with apprehension as she approached one of the deck hands. Her question about the captain was answered first with a grunt and then a leer. She rewarded his scrutiny with a withering look, prompting a shrug and a dismissal. The others on deck took little note of her, walking around her and sometimes hissing in irritation, and once, even with abject fear.
Confused, and after failing to get any particular attention from the crew, she cast her eyes back towards the dock where Daniel stood, arms crossed, caught between worry and amusement. Determined not to look stupid in his eyes, she braced herself and headed straight for the heavy-set man on the quarterdeck she assumed was the captain.
The man was bellowing orders at deckhands, and at first, he did not see her. But as he walked backwards off the deck, he nearly crashed into Ayesha.
He startled and swore roundly before speaking to her. "What on earth are you doing here, girl?"
Ayesha put her hands up defensively, and mustered her best French. "Nothing. Or nothing bad. I just wanted to make a request."
"Aye, yes. So does everyone. Speak it then, and quick."
"I'm looking for passage across the sea to England." She pointed at the docks. "For myself and my companion there."
"Your companion?"
"Yes, we've been traveling together. From Reims." That was true enough, Ayesha thought, even if it was not the entire story. She cast her eyes down and tried to look demure. “It would not be safe for me to travel alone, after all.”
The captain scoffed, not entirely convinced. He gave her a quick once-over and scratched his beard thoughtfully. "And how would you pay?"
She hesitated. "We could row the galley."
Her answer was met with a roar of laughter. "I have more men than I need for that sort of thing. And it's only two days to Pevensey, give or take a day. Not sure I need the help."
“Please.”
The captain cast a glance back at the docks. “Will you let me speak to your…companion first?”
Ayesha frowned. “Yes. But why--?”
“Send him up here then. And you, you stay off the deck until I say otherwise.”
She nodded, feeling like she’d just been scolded, without understanding why.”
--
Daniel watched Ayesha walk off the deck and back toward him, a frown on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and got a sad shake of her head in response.
By the time she reached him, the frown had been replaced by a thoughtful half-smile. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Who? The captain? Why?”
Ayesha shrugged. “You don’t have to talk to him. No sense begging. We should try something else.”
Daniel switched his attention to the galley, where the captain stood on deck, waiting. “I’ll go talk to him. It doesn’t hurt to try.”
He bounded up the gangplank, trying to look confident. He was barely on the deck when the captain pulled him up by the collar. He gave Daniel a sharp look.
“You want to tell me the truth, lad? And not just the story your lady friend gave me?”
Daniel kept his thoughts to himself, not sure what sort of tale Ayesha might have spun. The captain was not too bothered by his silence though.
He set Daniel back on his feet. “I’ll tell it to you straight. The girl’s well-born and you’re not. You’re obviously on the run, and her father’s probably coming after you.”
Daniel opened his mouth to explain but quickly shut it, realizing his version of the story would make no sense.
The captain’s look softened. “I don’t care what you’re up to. I was young once, and I’ve done stupid things in my time. But I can’t have a maiden on board. There’s a fear among the sailors, lad, that a maiden brings bad luck.
“So if you’re married to the girl, I’ll let you on board.”
Daniel shook his head. “No, she’s not my…I mean, we’re not—“
“Let me say it again. If you’re married, you can come aboard the ship.” He spoke the words slowly, and Daniel finally caught on.
“Alright then. I’d like to come on board. With…my wife.”
The captain chuckled. “There you go.” He reached into a pocket and withdrew a battered old coin. “Go buy the girl a ring. Makes your lie a better one.”
“No. I can’t pay you back.”
“Think of it as a gift then. A wedding gift.”
Daniel held out his hand for the coin, shame and guilt making his fingers shake.
“We set off at dawn, mind.”
Daniel nodded and walked away as the captain waved genially to Ayesha at the docks. She smiled back, but shot a confused look at Daniel.
He shrugged and handed her the coin. “Go buy yourself a ring.”
“A ring?”
“Yes. So everyone will think you’re a married woman.”
“Ah.” She closed her palm around the coin. “Married? That’s nice,” she added with meaning.
Daniel avoided her eyes. “It’s only a pretend marriage, Ayesha. Don’t get any ideas.”
She laughed and wandered off towards the town. He stared after her, trying hard not to imagine her as his real bride.
--
The galley rocked a little, but the sea was calm. By the captain’s estimate, they were about halfway across the English Sea, helped along by a northerly current. The galley had made good time during the day, and now the captain was content to boat the oars and give his crew a bit of rest.
On the deck, safe behind a stack of barrels, Daniel slept, his long frame stretched out over almost the entire space. Ayesha sat next to him, hugging her knees close and watching him.
It was not, of course, the first time she’d ever paid close attention to him. She’d watched him sleep many times. It was the only time in a day when he seemed at peace with himself, when the anger fell away and he looked like the lost young man he really was. She could see the real Daniel at times, as if there were a window into his mind that revealed itself only when he was asleep.
Besides, he was beautiful, and studying his face at close range was no chore. On an impulse, she raised a finger and began tracing the contours of his face, first his cheekbones and then his forehead. He began to stir and she stilled, waiting until he shifted and fell back asleep. She let her fingers trail over his face to his neck. At the open collar of his shirt, she paused and considered whether she’d gone too far. But he was still fast asleep, and her curiosity had won over her good sense a long time ago. Deciding no harm would come of it, she let her hand wander further south over his collarbones until her fingers came to rest over his beating heart.
Daniel’s eyes flew open and filled instantly with alarm. He jerked away from her, horror on his face as he pulled the collar of his shirt closed. “What are you doing?”
Ayesha looked away, chastised. But when the silence grew too long, she murmured, “I don’t know. I was just…curious.”
He gaped at her, as if she’d just confessed a horrible sin. She felt a familiar prickle of defiance. “I did nothing wrong.” He said nothing, but his expression remained, and Ayesha tried to deflect her guilt. “We’re on this journey together, and everyone thinks we’re married.” She reached out and touched his shoulder.
He swatted her hand away. “Ayesha! Stop being a child.” He spat the words at her, and she recoiled as if he’d struck her.
He seemed stricken too, as remorse crept into his face. His shoulders slumped, and he raked his fingers through his sweat-matted hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be angry with you. I told you before, there’s no future for you with me. I can’t give you what you need. I can’t promise you anything.”
“I don’t want a promise. I don’t need anything, Daniel.” Thinking she’d spotted a chink in his fierce armor, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his cheek, savoring her moment of victory when he leaned into her. But a moment later, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her gently away.
“Please. I need you to understand. This is what happened with my mother. My father played false with her.” The words came out in a rush, as if he’d thought them a thousand times. “He enticed her somehow, and then, at the first sign of a child, he abandoned her.”
His eyes were wild, full of fear and barely repressed rage. “I won’t do what he did, Ayesha. I’d rather die than be anything like him.”
--
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no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 11:18 pm (UTC)I forgot how much I like these two, and one good thing about forgetting is that I got to enjoy them all over again! Still feeling kind of stupid here . . . For OC’s, they are clearly drawn, and (once I remembered their existence) I feel like I have a pretty good idea what they are like. I particularly like Ayesha, who is rather childlike but in a very sincere and not manipulative or irritating way. She just really cares for and is drawn towards Daniel, and I love how clear that is in the scene at the end when she puts her hand over his heart as he sleeps.
I look forward to seeing these storylines tied together. Sorry for the lengthy comment, and sorry for not being a more attentive reader. It’s not you, it’s me!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 11:35 pm (UTC)OMG. I just realized that I never specifically mentioned who Daniel's mother is. I just assumed (mostly correctly) that everyone would know his mother is Djaq/Saffiya. Daniel is Will and Djaq's son, but he's never known his father, which suggests that Will and Djaq are estranged, of course. This is the central premise of the story, so it gives nothing away for me to share that with you.
The next couple of chapters are all Will and Djaq, but after that, Daniel's story intersects with theirs to a significant extent.
It’s not you, it’s me!
Actually, it IS me. You can't introduce OCs and then totally abandon them for 10 chapters or so, lol.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-13 11:48 pm (UTC)See, I went back and forth on that a bit. I couldn't decide whether it was more likely that Will and Djaq were estranged or that Will had had a child with another woman. Both possibilities seemed equally unlikely, and so the absence of the mention of Djaq as Daniel's mother led me to conclude that there was some mystery about her identity. It is entirely possible that I think way too much about these things. ;)
Thank you for clarifying!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 12:08 am (UTC)I hope I haven't confused to the point where you stop reading, lol.
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Date: 2012-07-14 12:46 am (UTC)Oh, of course. That makes total sense. There would have to be something referred to that would so completely identify his mother with Djaq. An outlaw tag that she kept or something like that. Or a memory he has where someone else uses her name. I can see how that's not the most natural sort of storytelling. I kind of like the mystery of it, intentional or not! Or should I say, mystery or not?
I hope I haven't confused to the point where you stop reading, lol.
I was wondering what difference this new (to me) piece of information would make to my reading of the story. Obviously, it's not unimportant, but I don't think knowing or not knowing it interferes at all with my enjoyment. It's a new thread to follow.
Although I'm surprisingly sorry to realize that Will and Djaq become estranged somehow, at some point. I say surprisingly because, you know, it's not really my ship. But I suppose if Djaq isn't going to be with Allan (*ducks*), I still want her to be happy! And I know that in this story Will makes her happy. I can look forward to their eventual reunion, though. :)
Anyway, considering I forgot about two characters in their entirety, it would be pretty hypocritical of me to decide that you had confused me too much to continue reading!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 01:03 am (UTC)When I first posted the prologue, everyone (all 3 people who were reading, lol) knew that Daniel was Will and Djaq's son, so there was never any need, before your comment, to fill out her identity in any way. The outlaw tag is a good idea though. I'll have to use that somehow. :)
Although I'm surprisingly sorry to realize that Will and Djaq become estranged somehow, at some point. I say surprisingly because, you know, it's not really my ship.
I'm surprised enough that you're sticking with this story despite it not being your favorite ship. No complaints though!
I told someone recently that if I'd just left Daniel out of the story altogether, I totally could have just written 30 chapters of Will/Djaq fluff (and been done with this whole story). But having introduced him, I'm sort of stuck with him, lol.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 02:03 am (UTC)Yup, feeling kind of stupid again . . . ;)
I'm surprised enough that you're sticking with this story despite it not being your favorite ship.
Hmmm. I suppose we could have an entire conversation about that! In short, I think they make compelling point of view characters, especially Djaq, when it comes to the other outlaws and the various goings on. And of course, they (collectively and individually) are a huge piece of the Allan-puzzle, IMO, and so I'm always interested in the interactions between and among the three of them in any and all configurations. As we've discussed before somewhere, Will and Djaq work just fine without Allan, but they work better with him. Or something like that. I'm paraphrasing. But I will admit that I'm becoming more and more intrigued by the possibilities in Will and Djaq's relationship because I believe (and I think you would agree) that there's so much more to explore there than we ever got a chance to see on the show.
I totally could have just written 30 chapters of Will/Djaq fluff
Ah, see that I probably would not have stuck with!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 02:11 am (UTC)As we've discussed before somewhere, Will and Djaq work just fine without Allan, but they work better with him.
You know what I like best about your comments? Their impressive candor. Never change. :)
It's definitely a more intriguing story when Allan is around, and I have no problem admitting that, lol. But I hope you'll still be able to read the story when it's just about Will and Djaq. Of course, Allan's never far from their minds, but from a storytelling perspective, they can't always be angsting over him either.
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Date: 2012-07-14 02:24 am (UTC)Aw, thanks! I'm glad you appreciate that rather than just finding it irritating, lol. I probably couldn't change if I wanted to!
I hope you'll still be able to read the story when it's just about Will and Djaq.
Definitely! I'm fully invested by now.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 01:27 am (UTC)Ayesha is such a spunky young girl. Love the way you've characterized her. She reminds me of Djaq in many ways. I think there's a lot of wisdom behind those eyes.
Daniel's reluctance to be more than friends with her may drive me insane. I'll try to be patient. Cannot wait to see how their lives will intersect with the folks in Sherwood. :)
Keep on writing!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 01:50 am (UTC)Daniel's reluctance to be more than friends with her may drive me insane.
LOL! For what it's worth, I think he's trying to do the right thing. He's just a chip off the old Scarlett block. ;)