Post by kkfan4life on Jan 10, 2006 22:19:29 GMT -5
Where Our Secrets Go
by williz
Disclaimer: No characters from Pirates of the Caribbean belong to me.
The soft breeze whipped about the small cave, a hollow sound reverberating through the large space. The sun squeaked through the holes and cracks in the rock, sending just enough light into its depths, a small trickling from dripping water heard ever so softly.
William Turner, who leant against the outer rock of the cave, had always come here to think about nothing really, just to think. He remembered it as a young boy, running in and playing in its deep caverns, finding strange rocks and keeping them to show Mrs. Brown, his master’s wife, whom he had cared for almost as a mother. After she had died, and his playmate disappeared of her father’s will, the boy only came here sparingly.
Now that he was a young man, he came here every so often to relive some of the moments shared, the secrets shared in the very same cave he stood outside of now. He sat on a flat rock just to the left of where he was leaning and pulled off his boots, rolling up his trousers to just below the knees. As he was rolling up his long shirt sleeves to just above his elbows, a small giggle sounded, echoing out to the clear water lapping at the edges of the cave.
“What was that?” He thought to himself, suspiciously. Will stood up and squinted into the opening.
Running a hand through his bound hair, he started towards the entrance, putting his other hand on the rock to steady himself as he stepped inside. The waves went up to his ankle as he walked further inside, feeling his way along the rough rock and sand.
The young man continued further into the cave, trying to find the source of the small giggle that sounded somewhat familiar to him. He heard it again, causing him to go even more carefully. And he kept going, not knowing who lurked just a bit further into the cave, behind a small rock with a book perched in her hand.
Elizabeth sat there, reading one of her favorite novels over again. It had been her favorite as a child. She used to sit out on her veranda at the Swann manor, reading it and reliving the adventure and romance she read from the book in her dreams the nights after reading it.
She giggled again, turning the page.
Elizabeth remembered coming here when she’d just arrived in Port Royal, just twelve years old. She used to come in here, with her one and only friend and they’d play hide and seek, her favorite game. If she shut her eyes and listened well enough with the vivid imagination she’d acquired from her mother, according to Governor Swann, she could just hear the secrets and whispers of two children playing.
With a reminiscent smile, she leaned her head back, almost losing her place in the book when she heard a faint, “Ouch!”
Elizabeth closed the book, putting it down beside her and turning, slowly peeking out from above her safe hiding spot behind the rock and squinted into the darkness of the tunnel.
There was a dark figure looming towards her. She ducked back down, eyes wide. If her father or any of his men (or even her maids, for that matter) caught her in here, she’d be reprimanded by her father, the governor of Port Royal, for sure.
She shut her eyes, hearing the person coming nearer. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The soft, but deep, voice said, the sounds echoing off the walls. The voice sounded familiar to her. She brought her knees up to her chest and waited for the person to come to her.
Will heard the faint sound of movement just behind the rock in front of him. With a raised eyebrow, he walked up to it and moved around to look.
Elizabeth raised her head and looked at him. “Who are you?” He asked lightly, beguiled by the vivid beauty that sat in front of him. A light, almost see-through dress clung tightly to her lithe frame. It was slightly damp from the mists that traveled through the cave when the waves came in, although the ground was mostly dry, as they were pretty far into the depths of the cave. She was barefoot, looking quite vulnerable with her mouth set in a slight shocked expression.
Her eyes shone a light brown, piercing his as she looked up at him, with light brown locks of wavy hair the color of honey cascading loose down her back and draping over her shoulders. One hand rested on her bent knees, the other resting beside her on what looked to the young man like a romance novel.
“Hello,” he murmured, softly to her.
Elizabeth’s eyes blurred slightly, but readjusted on his face as he greeted her, a shocked expression on her face. Eyes wide, she studied his face. She knew she’d seen him somewhere before. “Can you speak?” He asked softly, leaning down to be at level with her face. She followed him with her eyes.
“Y-Yes,” she said, shocked. A small smile crossed his face as he knelt beside her. That was when she got a good look at his face. He was stunningly handsome. A few strands of dark brown, wavy hair escaped from the loose cloth that tied his locks behind his back and dropped in front of his warm, chocolate eyes. Pulling herself away from his eyes, she moved down his face to see his chiseled jaw and slightly peculiar stubble and mustache.
Tilting her head to the side, she asked softly, “Who are you?” Will let out a small chuckle, answering, “That’s what I asked you.”
Elizabeth let out a small smile. “Oh yes, well I…”
She stopped quickly. She couldn’t tell him who she really was. If she did, her father might find out. What if her father had sent this handsome young man in to lure her out of the cave. Maybe that’s why he seemed so familiar to her.
As if reading her mind, Will smile reassuringly. “I promise, nothing will leave these walls. Are you hiding from someone?” He asked, quietly, glancing out of the cave as if checking to make sure.
“No, I’m…well, yes. But I’m not in danger.” She looked down at her book and moved it slowly behind her back, as if embarrassed by its presence now that someone else was here.
“You’re secret’s safe with me, I promise you.” The look in his eyes moved her more than his words, but she smiled softly.
After a bit of a pause, he looked at her. “You seem so familiar to me,” he said, unattached as he looked into her eyes so close to his own. “As if…I don’t know, as if I’ve met you before.”
Elizabeth felt a shiver go up her spine as she was caught in his intense stare. “I feel the same,” she said, an equally intense stare of her own matching his. As they stayed that way for awhile, a sudden drop fell on Will’s nose, dripping down off of his chin.
The young woman in front of him started giggling at him, as he smiled. That giggle…
“You’re it, Will!” The girl in a light sundress picked up her skirts and started running into the cave.
A delighted glint appeared in William Turner’s dark eyes, as he started after her. “You can run all you want, but I’m a boy and you’re a girl!” He called into the darkness.
After a small laugh, Elizabeth called back to him. “What has that got to do with anything? I can outrun you anytime, Mr. Turner!”
Will ignored that comment and walked into the dark cave. “Here I come,” he yelled into the darkness, so that she could hear. He looked around, stepping carefully as not to hurt his bare feet.
Elizabeth dodged behind a rock and stayed there, listening for his footsteps while breathing heavily. She heard him creeping up and dashed out from behind the rock.
Making a grab for her arm, Will grasped her wrist and brought her back. “Gotcha!” He said, laughing. Elizabeth shut her eyes tight, giggling uncontrollably.
“Will!” She giggled. “How many times must I tell you not to grab my best dresses like that? My father would be positively horrified if I came home with a torn dress!” She looked up at him as he let go.
“Once more Miss Swann, as always,” he said smiling before touching her shoulder and running out of the cave. “You’re it, Miss Swann!” He called behind him as she giggled and chased after him.
“Elizabeth?” Will’s eyes opened wide. Elizabeth looked up at him, shocked. “How did you know my name?” She asked timidly.
With a smirk, he leaned up close to her, causing Elizabeth to be able to feel his breath upon her face. Leaning back slightly, she barely caught his whispered, “You’re it,” as he tenderly touched her shoulder.
Elizabeth gasped. “William Turner!” She looked deep into his eyes and saw the same twelve year old boy she remembered. “It is you!”
Will could not believe it. This beautiful girl sitting in front of him was his childhood playmate Elizabeth Swann. She was breathtaking as a child, as he remembered blushing when she’d smile at him, but this was way beyond his expectations. She looked like a goddess…an angel from his past. That’s what she was.
He smiled, looking at the ground next to her. He was surprised when she flung her arms snugly around his neck. “I missed you so!” She breathed into his neck. His shocked expression melted into a smile as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist.
“I also missed you. Where did you go off to, exactly?” He asked her, pulling her away from him to look at her. That’s when she realized how bold she’d been, throwing herself at him like that, so she sunk back against the rock. “Father, he—well, you know…didn’t approve of my relationship with you,” she murmured, softly, looking at her bare feet.
“Why?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “We were just friends, weren’t we?” He asked, plopping down next to her and seeing the book behind her.
“Just friends,” Elizabeth thought to herself. The truth was that her father had noticed the way Elizabeth had started getting a certain look in her eye when she spoke of her friend, Will Turner…a certain look he did not like at all. So he had forbidden her to ever again see the blacksmith’s apprentice, not even to let her explain to him in person as to why they couldn’t see each other anymore.
Her answer to him was cut off, though, as she glanced at him picking up her book from behind where she leaned against the rock. “No!” She gasped, trying to take it away from him. He chuckled, holding it away from her reach as she grinned, feigning annoyance.
“You’re the same Will I remember,” she muttered, smugly. He laughed, opening the book and looking inside. “This looks awfully like a romance novel,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s an adventure with pirates,” she said, her eyes getting the same adventurous glint in them he always remembered.
“Uh oh, are you still going on about that?” He asked, quietly, looking through the pages. “I suppose it depends on what that is, Mr. Turner.” She leaned a bit closer to him and looked at the pages he was looking at. “It doesn’t look like much of a good read to me,” he said, hiding his teasing smile.
“It is! You’re a man and these sorts of things don’t appeal to you,” she said, matter-of-factly, reaching out to take her book back. “Now let me have my book,” she said.
“Wait, hold on.” He set the book down on his lap and opened it to the back page. “What’s this?” He asked. Something had been written in dark ink on the back cover.
“It’s nothing,” Elizabeth said, frantically grabbing the book from him and tucking it behind her. Will’s eyebrows shot up. “What was it? Let me see,” he said, trying to reach over her lap to get to it.
“No,” she said, pushing him back into his sitting position. Ignoring her pleas, he leaned over her and grabbed it, turning away from her as she reached for it. He opened it to the back page again and looked.
In large writing, there was a heart in which the letters ES and WT were written. He closed the book and turned to look at the red-faced young woman sitting next to him. “That ‘WT’ person you mentioned in here…that wouldn’t happen to be a thirteen year old version of me, would it?” He asked, a small smile on his face.
Elizabeth looked away blushing. “No,” she said shortly. “A fifteen year old version of you,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at him again. He laughed outright, causing her to blush even more.
“You liked me?” He asked, incredulously.
“Of course I did, Will. You were the only boy I could look at and not quiver because you treated me as your equal. Nobody’s ever treated me as their equal since you,” she finished, looking into his intense gaze, getting drawn into him again.
“Preposterous,” he reasoned, handing the book back to her. She was about to take it back, when he saw something on the spine of the book. “There’s something on here, Elizabeth,” he said, widening his eyes as he flipped it over.
She looked at it. “What do you mean?” He held it up, trying to get the light to hit it the right way, not noticing as Elizabeth moved her head right next to his as she stared at it also.
He turned his head, lowering the book, both he and Elizabeth realizing at the same moment that their faces were mere centimeters apart. “Will, what’s on my book?” She asked, looking away quickly.
“Um, your book…right. There was an engraving. It was probably nothing,” he said, setting the book down and allowing her to take it back.
She took it in her hands and ran her hands around the spine. “Will, there is something… I never noticed it before now and I’ve had this book since I was a child!” She squinted at it, holding it close to her face.
“Well what is it?” Will asked, trying to push down the feelings that had erupted in him when her face had been that close to his.
“I don’t know, it—it looks like a bird…a, this doesn’t make sense. What does it look like to you?” She asked, giving it to him. He lifted it up and gaped at it. “A…swan.” He said, turning to smile at her.
She smiled at him, taking the book back again. “How long have we been in here?” She asked, changing the subject. Will shrugged noncommittally and leaned back, shutting his eyes with a sigh.
“Do you remember what we used to do when we came here?” He asked, rolling his head to the side to look at her. She laughed. “Of course I do. We used to play hide and seek and look for spectacular rocks embedded in the sands.”
He smiled at her. “I never really came out here anymore when you stopped coming to see me.” He looked away and let some sand drift through his fingers.
“I always wondered why and I—well I thought about you often.” He had a small blush on his cheeks as he turned back to eye her, thoughtfully. “As a matter of fact, I got so many bruised and injured fingers from thinking about you, Mr. Brown thought maybe I was suicidal.” He was joking of course, and smiled when his quip got the attention from his companion that he wanted.
Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed, sending chills down Will’s spine as the sound nearly made him cry out with joy. How long had it been since he’d heard that sound. Even when she had stopped laughing, he could hear her laugh.
As Will was contemplating, Elizabeth watched his face with a grin. “My, your mind escapes you today, doesn’t it?” He looked at her and shook his head with a small smile. “I suppose so,” he drawled.
He stood up, Elizabeth watching with her eyes open wide, and crossed to the other side of the cave. He squinted at it, turning to look at her. “Look at this, Elizabeth.” A reminiscent smile crossed his rugged features, as Elizabeth tilted her head curiously and stood, coming to stand next to him.
He pointed to some small symbols that looked like they’d been carved into the rock. As if an idea just hit him, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. He held it up to the carvings and moved it slightly, allowing the light to shine off of it, revealing a small knick on the edge of the blade.
“I remember this,” Elizabeth said, a smile cracking her voice. “You drew it for me.” She gingerly traced it with her finger. “It’s a swan,” he finished, smiling at her.
She turned and smiled up at him, her lips slightly pursed. Both stood like that for what seemed to both like minutes, just staring in each other’s eyes. “My god, Will…since when did you get so handsome?” She asked, not really paying attention to what was coming out of her mouth.
He blushed, his smile turning into a sheepish grin. “I don’t rightly know, Miss Swann.” She giggled and fully faced him. “Will, why did I ever listen to my father about you?” She asked, shaking her head disbelievingly.
“What do you mean?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. That was when she realized she’d said too much. “Nothing,” she tried.
-----
To be continued......
by williz
Disclaimer: No characters from Pirates of the Caribbean belong to me.
The soft breeze whipped about the small cave, a hollow sound reverberating through the large space. The sun squeaked through the holes and cracks in the rock, sending just enough light into its depths, a small trickling from dripping water heard ever so softly.
William Turner, who leant against the outer rock of the cave, had always come here to think about nothing really, just to think. He remembered it as a young boy, running in and playing in its deep caverns, finding strange rocks and keeping them to show Mrs. Brown, his master’s wife, whom he had cared for almost as a mother. After she had died, and his playmate disappeared of her father’s will, the boy only came here sparingly.
Now that he was a young man, he came here every so often to relive some of the moments shared, the secrets shared in the very same cave he stood outside of now. He sat on a flat rock just to the left of where he was leaning and pulled off his boots, rolling up his trousers to just below the knees. As he was rolling up his long shirt sleeves to just above his elbows, a small giggle sounded, echoing out to the clear water lapping at the edges of the cave.
“What was that?” He thought to himself, suspiciously. Will stood up and squinted into the opening.
Running a hand through his bound hair, he started towards the entrance, putting his other hand on the rock to steady himself as he stepped inside. The waves went up to his ankle as he walked further inside, feeling his way along the rough rock and sand.
The young man continued further into the cave, trying to find the source of the small giggle that sounded somewhat familiar to him. He heard it again, causing him to go even more carefully. And he kept going, not knowing who lurked just a bit further into the cave, behind a small rock with a book perched in her hand.
Elizabeth sat there, reading one of her favorite novels over again. It had been her favorite as a child. She used to sit out on her veranda at the Swann manor, reading it and reliving the adventure and romance she read from the book in her dreams the nights after reading it.
She giggled again, turning the page.
Elizabeth remembered coming here when she’d just arrived in Port Royal, just twelve years old. She used to come in here, with her one and only friend and they’d play hide and seek, her favorite game. If she shut her eyes and listened well enough with the vivid imagination she’d acquired from her mother, according to Governor Swann, she could just hear the secrets and whispers of two children playing.
With a reminiscent smile, she leaned her head back, almost losing her place in the book when she heard a faint, “Ouch!”
Elizabeth closed the book, putting it down beside her and turning, slowly peeking out from above her safe hiding spot behind the rock and squinted into the darkness of the tunnel.
There was a dark figure looming towards her. She ducked back down, eyes wide. If her father or any of his men (or even her maids, for that matter) caught her in here, she’d be reprimanded by her father, the governor of Port Royal, for sure.
She shut her eyes, hearing the person coming nearer. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The soft, but deep, voice said, the sounds echoing off the walls. The voice sounded familiar to her. She brought her knees up to her chest and waited for the person to come to her.
Will heard the faint sound of movement just behind the rock in front of him. With a raised eyebrow, he walked up to it and moved around to look.
Elizabeth raised her head and looked at him. “Who are you?” He asked lightly, beguiled by the vivid beauty that sat in front of him. A light, almost see-through dress clung tightly to her lithe frame. It was slightly damp from the mists that traveled through the cave when the waves came in, although the ground was mostly dry, as they were pretty far into the depths of the cave. She was barefoot, looking quite vulnerable with her mouth set in a slight shocked expression.
Her eyes shone a light brown, piercing his as she looked up at him, with light brown locks of wavy hair the color of honey cascading loose down her back and draping over her shoulders. One hand rested on her bent knees, the other resting beside her on what looked to the young man like a romance novel.
“Hello,” he murmured, softly to her.
Elizabeth’s eyes blurred slightly, but readjusted on his face as he greeted her, a shocked expression on her face. Eyes wide, she studied his face. She knew she’d seen him somewhere before. “Can you speak?” He asked softly, leaning down to be at level with her face. She followed him with her eyes.
“Y-Yes,” she said, shocked. A small smile crossed his face as he knelt beside her. That was when she got a good look at his face. He was stunningly handsome. A few strands of dark brown, wavy hair escaped from the loose cloth that tied his locks behind his back and dropped in front of his warm, chocolate eyes. Pulling herself away from his eyes, she moved down his face to see his chiseled jaw and slightly peculiar stubble and mustache.
Tilting her head to the side, she asked softly, “Who are you?” Will let out a small chuckle, answering, “That’s what I asked you.”
Elizabeth let out a small smile. “Oh yes, well I…”
She stopped quickly. She couldn’t tell him who she really was. If she did, her father might find out. What if her father had sent this handsome young man in to lure her out of the cave. Maybe that’s why he seemed so familiar to her.
As if reading her mind, Will smile reassuringly. “I promise, nothing will leave these walls. Are you hiding from someone?” He asked, quietly, glancing out of the cave as if checking to make sure.
“No, I’m…well, yes. But I’m not in danger.” She looked down at her book and moved it slowly behind her back, as if embarrassed by its presence now that someone else was here.
“You’re secret’s safe with me, I promise you.” The look in his eyes moved her more than his words, but she smiled softly.
After a bit of a pause, he looked at her. “You seem so familiar to me,” he said, unattached as he looked into her eyes so close to his own. “As if…I don’t know, as if I’ve met you before.”
Elizabeth felt a shiver go up her spine as she was caught in his intense stare. “I feel the same,” she said, an equally intense stare of her own matching his. As they stayed that way for awhile, a sudden drop fell on Will’s nose, dripping down off of his chin.
The young woman in front of him started giggling at him, as he smiled. That giggle…
“You’re it, Will!” The girl in a light sundress picked up her skirts and started running into the cave.
A delighted glint appeared in William Turner’s dark eyes, as he started after her. “You can run all you want, but I’m a boy and you’re a girl!” He called into the darkness.
After a small laugh, Elizabeth called back to him. “What has that got to do with anything? I can outrun you anytime, Mr. Turner!”
Will ignored that comment and walked into the dark cave. “Here I come,” he yelled into the darkness, so that she could hear. He looked around, stepping carefully as not to hurt his bare feet.
Elizabeth dodged behind a rock and stayed there, listening for his footsteps while breathing heavily. She heard him creeping up and dashed out from behind the rock.
Making a grab for her arm, Will grasped her wrist and brought her back. “Gotcha!” He said, laughing. Elizabeth shut her eyes tight, giggling uncontrollably.
“Will!” She giggled. “How many times must I tell you not to grab my best dresses like that? My father would be positively horrified if I came home with a torn dress!” She looked up at him as he let go.
“Once more Miss Swann, as always,” he said smiling before touching her shoulder and running out of the cave. “You’re it, Miss Swann!” He called behind him as she giggled and chased after him.
“Elizabeth?” Will’s eyes opened wide. Elizabeth looked up at him, shocked. “How did you know my name?” She asked timidly.
With a smirk, he leaned up close to her, causing Elizabeth to be able to feel his breath upon her face. Leaning back slightly, she barely caught his whispered, “You’re it,” as he tenderly touched her shoulder.
Elizabeth gasped. “William Turner!” She looked deep into his eyes and saw the same twelve year old boy she remembered. “It is you!”
Will could not believe it. This beautiful girl sitting in front of him was his childhood playmate Elizabeth Swann. She was breathtaking as a child, as he remembered blushing when she’d smile at him, but this was way beyond his expectations. She looked like a goddess…an angel from his past. That’s what she was.
He smiled, looking at the ground next to her. He was surprised when she flung her arms snugly around his neck. “I missed you so!” She breathed into his neck. His shocked expression melted into a smile as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist.
“I also missed you. Where did you go off to, exactly?” He asked her, pulling her away from him to look at her. That’s when she realized how bold she’d been, throwing herself at him like that, so she sunk back against the rock. “Father, he—well, you know…didn’t approve of my relationship with you,” she murmured, softly, looking at her bare feet.
“Why?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “We were just friends, weren’t we?” He asked, plopping down next to her and seeing the book behind her.
“Just friends,” Elizabeth thought to herself. The truth was that her father had noticed the way Elizabeth had started getting a certain look in her eye when she spoke of her friend, Will Turner…a certain look he did not like at all. So he had forbidden her to ever again see the blacksmith’s apprentice, not even to let her explain to him in person as to why they couldn’t see each other anymore.
Her answer to him was cut off, though, as she glanced at him picking up her book from behind where she leaned against the rock. “No!” She gasped, trying to take it away from him. He chuckled, holding it away from her reach as she grinned, feigning annoyance.
“You’re the same Will I remember,” she muttered, smugly. He laughed, opening the book and looking inside. “This looks awfully like a romance novel,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “It’s an adventure with pirates,” she said, her eyes getting the same adventurous glint in them he always remembered.
“Uh oh, are you still going on about that?” He asked, quietly, looking through the pages. “I suppose it depends on what that is, Mr. Turner.” She leaned a bit closer to him and looked at the pages he was looking at. “It doesn’t look like much of a good read to me,” he said, hiding his teasing smile.
“It is! You’re a man and these sorts of things don’t appeal to you,” she said, matter-of-factly, reaching out to take her book back. “Now let me have my book,” she said.
“Wait, hold on.” He set the book down on his lap and opened it to the back page. “What’s this?” He asked. Something had been written in dark ink on the back cover.
“It’s nothing,” Elizabeth said, frantically grabbing the book from him and tucking it behind her. Will’s eyebrows shot up. “What was it? Let me see,” he said, trying to reach over her lap to get to it.
“No,” she said, pushing him back into his sitting position. Ignoring her pleas, he leaned over her and grabbed it, turning away from her as she reached for it. He opened it to the back page again and looked.
In large writing, there was a heart in which the letters ES and WT were written. He closed the book and turned to look at the red-faced young woman sitting next to him. “That ‘WT’ person you mentioned in here…that wouldn’t happen to be a thirteen year old version of me, would it?” He asked, a small smile on his face.
Elizabeth looked away blushing. “No,” she said shortly. “A fifteen year old version of you,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at him again. He laughed outright, causing her to blush even more.
“You liked me?” He asked, incredulously.
“Of course I did, Will. You were the only boy I could look at and not quiver because you treated me as your equal. Nobody’s ever treated me as their equal since you,” she finished, looking into his intense gaze, getting drawn into him again.
“Preposterous,” he reasoned, handing the book back to her. She was about to take it back, when he saw something on the spine of the book. “There’s something on here, Elizabeth,” he said, widening his eyes as he flipped it over.
She looked at it. “What do you mean?” He held it up, trying to get the light to hit it the right way, not noticing as Elizabeth moved her head right next to his as she stared at it also.
He turned his head, lowering the book, both he and Elizabeth realizing at the same moment that their faces were mere centimeters apart. “Will, what’s on my book?” She asked, looking away quickly.
“Um, your book…right. There was an engraving. It was probably nothing,” he said, setting the book down and allowing her to take it back.
She took it in her hands and ran her hands around the spine. “Will, there is something… I never noticed it before now and I’ve had this book since I was a child!” She squinted at it, holding it close to her face.
“Well what is it?” Will asked, trying to push down the feelings that had erupted in him when her face had been that close to his.
“I don’t know, it—it looks like a bird…a, this doesn’t make sense. What does it look like to you?” She asked, giving it to him. He lifted it up and gaped at it. “A…swan.” He said, turning to smile at her.
She smiled at him, taking the book back again. “How long have we been in here?” She asked, changing the subject. Will shrugged noncommittally and leaned back, shutting his eyes with a sigh.
“Do you remember what we used to do when we came here?” He asked, rolling his head to the side to look at her. She laughed. “Of course I do. We used to play hide and seek and look for spectacular rocks embedded in the sands.”
He smiled at her. “I never really came out here anymore when you stopped coming to see me.” He looked away and let some sand drift through his fingers.
“I always wondered why and I—well I thought about you often.” He had a small blush on his cheeks as he turned back to eye her, thoughtfully. “As a matter of fact, I got so many bruised and injured fingers from thinking about you, Mr. Brown thought maybe I was suicidal.” He was joking of course, and smiled when his quip got the attention from his companion that he wanted.
Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed, sending chills down Will’s spine as the sound nearly made him cry out with joy. How long had it been since he’d heard that sound. Even when she had stopped laughing, he could hear her laugh.
As Will was contemplating, Elizabeth watched his face with a grin. “My, your mind escapes you today, doesn’t it?” He looked at her and shook his head with a small smile. “I suppose so,” he drawled.
He stood up, Elizabeth watching with her eyes open wide, and crossed to the other side of the cave. He squinted at it, turning to look at her. “Look at this, Elizabeth.” A reminiscent smile crossed his rugged features, as Elizabeth tilted her head curiously and stood, coming to stand next to him.
He pointed to some small symbols that looked like they’d been carved into the rock. As if an idea just hit him, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife. He held it up to the carvings and moved it slightly, allowing the light to shine off of it, revealing a small knick on the edge of the blade.
“I remember this,” Elizabeth said, a smile cracking her voice. “You drew it for me.” She gingerly traced it with her finger. “It’s a swan,” he finished, smiling at her.
She turned and smiled up at him, her lips slightly pursed. Both stood like that for what seemed to both like minutes, just staring in each other’s eyes. “My god, Will…since when did you get so handsome?” She asked, not really paying attention to what was coming out of her mouth.
He blushed, his smile turning into a sheepish grin. “I don’t rightly know, Miss Swann.” She giggled and fully faced him. “Will, why did I ever listen to my father about you?” She asked, shaking her head disbelievingly.
“What do you mean?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. That was when she realized she’d said too much. “Nothing,” she tried.
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To be continued......
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