Sword Practice
a Pirates of the Caribbean story
by Hermione Eveningfall
When Will returned from the blacksmith shop one evening before supper, he was greeted by the bouncing form of his daughter. She wore a black patch over one eye, made out of a piece of black cloth Elizabeth gave her, and pointed a stick at his stomach. "Arrrrrrrr!" she roared, before leaping into his arms.
Will burst into laughter at the sight, hugging her tightly and planting a kiss on the rosy cheek. "Well now lass, you truly do look like a pirate!"
"Yes! Mama said I could surprise you. And she also said I could learn how to sword fight, if you said it was all right!"
Elizabeth, still charming as ever, came out from the kitchen to embrace her husband, stroking his short ponytail. "Did she now?" Will raised an eyebrow as he carried Mary into the parlour, where she fought to get down after a couple of minutes. He set her on the floor, folding his arms, and accepted the cup of tea from his wife. "When did this come about?"
Elizabeth chuckled as she helped her husband, still a little weak from the bout of pneumonia he'd caught, sit in his favorite chair by the fireplace. "Oh, this afternoon. Will, I think our little one's ready to at least learn some of the basics of piracy. Naturally the good lessons, of course." She added, noting Will's concerned expression, and she kissed his forehead. "Will, you know what I mean."
He nodded, clearing his throat as he sipped from the mug, and watched as Mary hopped around the room, pretending to stab invisible foes. "So can I, Papa? Can I can I can I? Pleaaaase?" Mary gave her father her irresistable puppy eyes, sticking her lower lip out and whimpering softly.
"All right. I promise, after dinner we'll go and I'll show you a couple of things. Is that a deal, missy?" he held out his hand which she squeezed, before crawling onto his lap and snuggling against his chest. Elizabeth watched the touching scene before her, grateful that God had chosen to spare her husband from what she thought was his fate. Quickly, she turned her head, not wanting to show him the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"I must go and finish supper," she squeaked, and Will looked at her.
"All right...do you need any help, love?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"No, no darling I'm all right. Just sit and rest...you've had a long day I'm sure." Quickly, she hurried away, leaving Will to spend time with Mary.
"So this is what you have been doing today?" He allowed her to slide down, a bit startled when she removed his boots, and began to massage his now-aching feet. "Oh my love, that is very sweet of you." He complimented, as she took his big toe.
"This little Piggy went to market," she announced, and touched the next one. "And this little piggy stayed home!"
Will laughed, for he was rather ticklish on his feet. "This little piggy had roast beef...and this little piggy had none!"
Will leaned forward, plucking his daughter up again, and began to tickle her sides. "And this little piggy went wee wee wee wee! All the way home!"
Mary squealed with delight, grasping his hands and trying to save herself by curling into a ball. Once he gave in, she straightened herself out, and the two soon elapsed into silence. For the two of them, words were not always necessary. They did not need to speak to know how one another felt about something. Mary had a gift for reading minds, Will was sure, because she always knew exactly what to do if he ever felt down or angry about something. Now she knew he just wanted to be mellow, and just lay in his arms, eventually sucking on her thumb.
After a while, Elizabeth called them both to supper, which she made quick and painless, knowing how badly Mary had been looking forward to the lesson all day. She saw them off, waving as they made their way towards the blacksmith shop. As the shop was not far away, they made it there in ten minutes, and Mary pushed open the large, heavy door. Dust billowed out from inside, immediately making Will's nose itch dreadfully. He quickly fetched his handkerchief, burrying his face in it. "HahShhhhesh! Eh-Shhhhhh!"
Mary jumped, glancing over her shoulder. "Bless you!" she exclaimed, as they entered.
"Thank you, my dear." He placed a hand on top of her head as he pushed the door shut after them. "Now, as you are a beginner, I am only going to allow you to use a dull blade. I do not want you to hurt yourself." He chose a sword he'd not sharpened in a good while, testing it on his palm for sharpness. Mary accepted her weapon eagerly, gazing at the shiny sword in awe. She'd never been allowed to hold one, and this was a real turning point in her young life.
"Now. Stand facing me, and hold your sword like this, so your arm is in an "L" shape." He set her arm in that position, smiling once she was ready. "Good. Now lift your sword, and make it look as though you're going to take a swing at me."
Mary did as she was told, her eyes wide with excitement. Will half prayed to himself that she would not get too overly excited and wind up stabbing him. He could just see Jack's amused expression at this present situation, and chuckled softly to himself, as he and Mary began to clang their swords together in the most simple fashion. The donkey, Pepper, stood in his pen watching with his great brown eyes, his long thin tail flicking every so often. "Well done!" Will complimented when they finished the first set of blows, and Mary bowed, her curly brown hair falling in her face.
"How can you do this for a long time?" She asked, rotating her little wrist. "My hands are sore!"
"It takes many years of practice before you gain comfort with it," Will explained. "Shall we sit and wait until your hands get a chance to recover before starting again?"
Mary nodded, agreeing that it was probably a good idea, and joined her father on top of one of the haystacks. "I'm so glad you're still with me, Papa. I-I couldn't loose you. Will pulled her close, resting his lips on top of her head. On the Black Pearl, he'd been close to slipping away forever, when by a miraculous occurance, he came back. The recovery from pneumonia was a long and exhausting process...he could barely walk for the first week or so after Jack brought the family home, and even when he could, he felt as though he were attemping to walk for the first time.
"I am so glad to be with you too, my darling."
Mary sighed in content, before perking up. "I'm ready!" she insisted, making him laugh, and helped him down. Another cloud of dust caused a second fit of sneezes to erupt, and Will managed to catch them in his hands in time.
"Harshhuuuh! Aashhhhuh! Eshhhhhh! My-goodness-hushhhhheh!" He sniffled, groaning a little at the throbbing ache behind his eyes. Mary giggled, covering her mouth with her hand as he managed to pull out his handky, letting out one last sneeze. "HUHESHHHH!"
"Bless you again!" she chirped, cringing as he blew his nose so loudly that it sounded almost like a trumpet.
"Thank you, love. I believe my nose became more sensitive after I fell sick. The dust in here never bothered me so badly before." He picked up his sword.
"Then we do not have to pracitce in here, silly!" Mary teased, pointing towards the door. "Can we not practice somewhere else, father?"
Will cocked his head to one side, smirking a little. "You're absolutely right," he agreed with a nod. "Though your mother does not like having swords in the house, as she seems to prefer the bedwarmer." He winked, and nodded, clearing his tickly throat. "Let us go to the little park where your mother and I used to picnic all the time before we were married. The view of the sky is quite wonderful there, and I do know you like to look at the stars."
Mary squealed with delight, hopping up and down as they left after giving Pepper his nightly watering and feeding. The donkey bobbed his head as Mary gave his nose a stroke, and let out a "Hee- haw!" which mixed with the sound of the door creaking.The cool night breeze brushed over their faces as they made their way towards the set of open land, and gazed up at the dusky sky. Will took a deep breath, chuckling as Mary dropped her sword at the first sight of a lightening bug, and folded his arms. `Let us hope those become her only prey,' he thought, as she caught one in her hands. "Look what I caught, Papa! Isnt it beautiful?" She opened her palm carefully, and Will saw the soft glow of the creature.
"It is very beautiful, darling." He replied. Life in itself, he added, was beautiful. It was something that should never be taken for granted, and that was a rule he kept deep within.
Naturally, these lovely characters do not belong to me. I am only borrowing them purely for enjoyment, and because I can't get enough! I promise to return them to their original creators (some day! ;o) ). Weekly Hatch: #18 (use 3 of these words: sore, scar, sword, snow, silence, sleeping, snuffle, and must be written in an hour's time frame.) Sequel to "Whispering Hope" (which I know I havent finished yet)