Nope! I didn't like that Doctor x Donna! Not one bit. Of course, I'm lying through my tears! They deserve a happy ending! Things can't end that way for Donna! Please write more!? Where they get that happy ending?!
Your wish is my command! Not quite a continuation, but the happy ending is definitely there. @mcgregorswench
The Doctor fidgeted with his suit sleeves. He waswearing a tuxedo. Again. Damn thing had to be cursed, but Donna had insisted. Hewas just glad she’d let him wear black converse instead of whatever dress shoeshumans forced themselves into. This suit had a track record he was damn sure hewasn’t going to lose an alien fight because of subpar footwear.
“Doctor, you’re actually jumping in place. Relax.” saidJack, leaning over to murmur. He sighed,
“Trying to get the blood flowing. Don’t want to forgetmy lines.” The Doctor whispered back. He could hear Jack roll his eyes,
“You have two words. I think you’ll be fine.” Jacksaid. The Doctor tried to calm down, but he figured that given the situation, alittle anxiety was warranted.
He was getting married. And he was in his cursedtuxedo.
Just then, the organ music started and he turned to look at his bride. DonnaNoble was gorgeous, just like he knew she’d be. Even Jack whistled quietlybeside him, but the Doctor couldn’t bear himself to look away to chastise Jackproperly. Donna had a thin veil on and he could see her beaming smile. He smiledback until it felt like his face would split. Married. Him. To Donna Noble, themost important woman in the universe and his best friend. Wilf was walking herup the aisle and the old man’s eyes looked a little shimmery. Wilf placed Donna’shand in his and sat down. The music stopped. The Doctor whispered out of thecorner of his mouth,
“You look lovely.”
“Not too bad yourself.” Donna whispered back. The manin front opened his book and started reading, but the Doctor couldn’t pay attention.He was marrying Donna and it took all his self-control not to start bouncing onhis heels. He’d be married to her and then there’d be no more “we aren’t acouple” or “I’m not his wife”. Because they would be married and Donna would behis wife. And the Doctor couldn’t wait. The priest was looking at him expectantlyand the Doctor said clearly, smiling like a loon,
Donna slowly walked up the aisle, stately music playing from the organ. She smiled at her fiancée, about to become her husband. But as she looked at him, she became glad that she had a thick veil, because then no one could see she was crying. And Donna didn’t even know why. Fat tears rolled down her face and she kept up a fake smile just in case someone could see it. But nevertheless, even as Donna walked down the aisle to become a married woman, she knew it was wrong. Something was wrong because it wasn’t him. She didn’t know who he was, but something in her, some instinct, knew that this man was wrong. There was someone else out there that she was supposed to marry. Someone brilliant, someone compassionate when he had no earthly reason to be. Someone was out there that she loved and he loved her back in his own way and she didn’t know who. Sometimes, just when she woke up, Donna thought she could feel a hand in hers and hear her feet pounding on pavement, but those were just silly impulses left over from whatever dream. Donna reached the end of the aisle and it really didn’t matter if there was someone out there she loved and who loved her back, there was someone beside her that loved her and if he could do that for someone like her, she could learn to love him too. And so it was with a fake smile and hopeful if resigned heart that she answered,
Summary: When Merida finds a skinny boy from down the hall sleeping on her doorstep, she can’t just leave him there. Read it on AO3 here.
Merida sighed and drew the blanket closer around her. Movie night was so much more fun when she wasn't supposed to be awake, or when she had someone with her. On her own, in her own apartment, movie night just felt empty. There was no thrill of knowing her parents would totally disapprove or the validation of having that eventual 2 a.m. conversation with friends about the serious things in life. The credits started rolling and she stretched. She looked at the clock and was surprised to find it was already almost three o'clock in the morning. Merida stood and kept her fuzzy blanket around her, wearing it as a cape to the kitchen. She opened and closed cupboards, looked in the fridge twice, but nothing quite caught her fancy. She plopped back onto the couch with a sigh. Chocolate. She wanted chocolate. She heaved a sigh and stood up, leaving her blanket on the couch and grabbing her thick coat from the closet. The gas station around the corner was 24/7 and they were bound to have something chocolate. Maybe even something alcoholic. She slipped on her boots over fuzzy sock-clad feet and opened the door. She almost tripped over the boy lying in front of her door. He sat up with a shock and Merida stepped back in surprise,
"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed. No one else in her apartment ever made noise after 11 and most were over the age of 60, leaving Merida to assume that no one else was awake. The boy stood and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. His shirt hung loose on his skinny frame and Merida squinted at him, "Were you sleeping?"
"Uh...yeah." said the boy. Merida shook her head,
"What are you doing here?" she asked again. The boy couldn't quite meet her eye,
"I'm staying with my dad; he lives down the hall. Stoick. He has his girlfriend," Merida noticed the distaste in the boy's tone at the mention of the girlfriend, "over and...she's um, staying the night." It clicked in Merida's head and the boy's awkwardness made sense. She winced in sympathy and held her hand out, "Merida."
"Hiccup." said the boy, shaking her hand. She squinted at him,
"Odd name."
"Mom has a sense of humor." he said with a shrug. Merida chewed her lip. She couldn't in good conscience leave Hiccup to sleep in front of her door all night. And even though the gas station was fairly close, it was late and cold and suddenly chocolate didn't seem all that worth the freezing cold trek. She opened her door further,
"Would you like to come in? I'm fairly sure my couch is more comfortable than the floor."
"Weren't you just going out?" he asked.
"Eh. I remembered exactly how cold three in the morning is in the middle of December." she said. Hiccup nodded and followed her into the apartment. He toed his shoes off and walked into the living room as Merida unzipped her coat and slipped off her boots,
"Nice place." he said. Merida snorted,
"You don't have to lie. I know that it's a pit. I haven't seen a solid patch of floor in weeks." she said. Hiccup laughed,
"I guarantee that at school, mine is worse."
"Oh?"
"Your takeout containers don't smell just yet." he said. Merida nodded. She had friends that were messier than her and she understood the measuring stick. She walked into the kitchen/dining room,
"Want something to drink? I have soda, beer, water, and maybe some tea." she said.
"Beer sounds pretty good." She grabbed a can for herself and a can for Hiccup and walked back to the couch, plopping back down into her spot. Hiccup sat at the other end and cracked open his beer. The movie's credits had finished their run and the main menu was back.
"'Die Hard'?" asked Hiccup. Merida nodded as she slurped the beer that had spilled into the rim of the can. Hiccup nodded and sat back,
"I can appreciate excellent taste."
"I just finished. I was thinking 'JAWS' next. You down?"
"Absolutely." said Hiccup. He jumped up and the case off the shelf and put the disc in. As the movie played, Merida found herself wondering more and more at the boy on the other end of her couch instead of how they managed to make the shark look so real. A part of her mind was screaming at her that Hiccup had to go. Who in their right mind lets in a kid they just meet and watches movies like it's entirely okay? And yet...
And yet she was grateful for him. Her night had been just about to take a depressing turn, that kind that ended in a teary phone call to the first person who picked up (usually her mum) and crying about how she was all alone in the country. Those nights usually involved a pretty painful next morning full of hangover and still a little depression. And Hiccup, bless his soul, had just managed to stave that off. And somehow, it felt comfortable. Sitting on the couch and drinking beer watching an old movie filled with sharks and dead people. It felt comfortable. Hiccup felt comfortable. When the credits came up, she didn't want him to leave. By then, it was almost five in the morning. They both stretched after sitting still for so long and Merida pretended not to notice him glancing at her breasts. Stretching had a habit of displaying them to their best advantage and she didn't know that she exactly blamed him; they were kind of perfect. Even she was distracted sometimes. Hiccup glanced at his phone and also realized what time it was,
"Well, any noises that I really don't want to hear are probably done now, so I'll get out of your hair." he said. Merida shrugged,
"Yes, but there is also the possibility of morning sex. Which would take place in about three hours." she said. Hiccup cringed. Merida continued, "Stay the night. The couch is comfy, as you can attest, and I have more blankets I can drag out for you."
"You don't mind?" asked Hiccup. Merida rolled her eyes,
"If I did, would I have offered?"
"True," he said, "Thank you."
"Not a problem." said Merida as she stood up and went to her room, bringing out a couple blankets for Hiccup. He folded one up to use as a pillow and buried himself beneath the rest.
"G'night. Or morning." he said. Merida nodded,
"Good morning. Sleep well."
"You too." said Hiccup. Merida closed her bedroom door. It was strange, having a stranger sleeping on her couch. Still, if his dad was Stoick, she felt more at ease. She'd met Stoick before. He wasn't a bad guy, reminded her of her own dad back in Scotland. Stoick had mentioned having a son named Hiccup. If something went missing, she'd know who to talk to. Before she went to bed though, she locked her bedroom door. Just in case.
The next morning, Merida blinked awake to an amazing smell. A glance at the clock told her it was only eleven, not much sleep considering when she went to bed. Still, it smelled like...food. Actual, cooking food, compared to the takeout she usually lived off of. She slipped into her pajama pants and did a quick check in the mirror for any drool or especially unruly hair (no helping that, she decided) before opening her door. Sure enough, Hiccup was in the kitchen, at the stove, frying something. The blankets she had lent him were neatly folded on the couch and Merida knew right then that she officially had the best accidental house guest in all of America. He turned and smiled to her,
“Good morning.”
“’Morning.” Said Merida, yawning and shuffling over to switch on the coffee pot. She peered over his shoulder at what was on the stove, “Eggs and bacon? We are living high today.”
“I went back and grabbed ‘em from Dad’s fridge. Figured breakfast was a good way to thank an excellent hostess for lending me her sofa for the evening.” He said. Merida smiled,
“Eggs and bacon are the best thank-you.” Just then, Hiccup’s phone rang and he dug around in his pocket, finally pulling out the contraption. He answered it and tucked it between his ear and shoulder as he used one hand to hold the pan and the other to push around the eggs,
“Hello?” A pause, “Yeah, I’m fine Dad. I ended up crashing with Merida down the hall.” Another pause and Hiccup flushed and hissed, “I slept on the couch, Dad. So protection wasn’t an issue.” Merida blushed too and pretended to have not heard that. Hiccup rolled his eyes, “Yes, I’ll be back soon. I was just making her breakfast.” Another pause and Hiccup grabbed a couple paper plates that didn’t have too many pizza crumbs on them and split the eggs and bacon, “Yeah, I’ll be back to walk Toothless in a second. See you then. Bye!” He hung up and handed Merida a plate. She tried a bite and closed her eyes, moaning,
“God, I haven’t had real food in so long.”
“You’re welcome.” Said Hiccup as he started eating as well. Merida took another bite,
“Seriously. I can burn water. You probably know my cupboards better than I do.”
“A deal, then.” Said Hiccup. Merida swallowed her food,
“I’m listening.”
“When my dad is ‘entertaining,’ you let me crash and in return, I make you breakfast.”
“Deal.” Merida replied, holding out her hand. Hiccup shook it and just like that, their lives changed forever.
Darcy/Tony/Pepper "Being out of condoms doesn't eliminate sex, it just elimnates some things on the sex menu"
Read it on AO3 here.
“Being out of condoms doesn’t eliminate sex, it justeliminates some things on the sex menu.” whined Tony. He, Pepper, and Darcywere wrapped up in the cream colored sheets, such a tangle of limbs that it wasa lot easier to just get comfy where they were than try to untangle themselves.Pepper smiled indulgently but Darcy went suspiciously quiet. Pepper, everkeeping an eye on the newest addition to their relationship, turned to heryounger girl and stroked her hair back from her forehead,
“What is it, Darcy? Something’s wrong.” Pepper stated.Darcy shrugged and couldn’t quite meet either of their eyes. She’d been in apolyamorous relationship with her coworkers/bosses for almost a year and ahalf, but there was one topic they hadn’t yet broached and Darcy was afraid tobring it up. They were all so happy, riding the post-orgasm wave of bliss. Itwould be a shame to bring it up now, but Pepper had asked and Pepper could getlike a dog with a bone when someone tried to keep something from her. Tony waseven worse if he took an interest. Darcy sighed and nuzzled closer to Pepper,who draped an arm around Darcy’s shoulders. Darcy said quietly,
“There is one instance in which being out of condomsdoesn’t eliminate anything from the sex menu.”
“What, barebacking?” Tony asked. Darcy shrugged.Pepper stroked her elegant fingers up and down Darcy’s naked arm,
“Do you want to skip the condom, Darcy?” she asked.Darcy didn’t answer. Tony seemed utterly confused, but Pepper seemed to havecaught on to why Darcy was being so quiet, “Darcy,” she said slowly, liftingDarcy’s chin to have the younger woman look her in the eye “do you wantchildren? Is that what this is about?” Tony made a vague noise of surprisebehind them and moved so he had an arm slung around Pepper, looking at Darcyfrom over Pepper’s shoulder. Darcy hesitated, then nodded just a tiny bit. Pepperand Tony both smiled at her,
“Darcy, we want kids too.” explained Pepper. Darcy lookedat the pair of them suspiciously. Tony nodded,
“We do. It’s just…”
“I can’t have children.” said Pepper and it was evidentthat there was still pain in her voice. Her smile was too tight when she saidit. Darcy hugged Pepper a little closer and looked at the both of them,
“So, you guys are okay with having kids? Like mecarrying them and then we all raise them with soccer tournaments andself-defense classes and stuff?”
“Darcy, we want to. I promise. We didn’t bring it upbecause we thought you might want more time to be not-a-parent.” said Pepper.Darcy smiled,
“When we first got together, I would have. But by now,now we’re good.”
“Good.” Tony reached over Pepper and hugged both ofthem. It was a wonderful moment, the three of them cuddling and close. Tonypiped up,
“Well, glad we got that sorted out. But the night is soI suggest we get cracking.”
A/N: What would have happened if James went with Elizabeth off of the Flying Dutchman, and Elizabeth has an emotional realization.
“James, come with me.” He looked at her in surprise. He knew that he still had a great deal to do before he was forgiven. Her eyes, in the midst of the adrenaline of escape, were begging him to come with her.
In the split second that he had, James thought of the life he was living. He’d returned to the Navy but it wasn’t a Navy he had known before. Beckett had been intended as a tool to join proper society but the longer James remained in society, the more he felt Beckett shackling him to Beckett’s cause. A cause that damned Elizabeth to death at the point of a sword or the end of a rope. It was a cause James could follow no more.
“Go. I will follow.” Elizabeth smiled and kissed his cheek, swinging herself up onto the rope. James listened intently for anything to signify someone had discovered their escape, but the ship was quiet. He followed Elizabeth across the rope.
By the time they reached the Empress, the crew had quietly scattered about and the ship was ready to cut off from the Dutchmen. Elizabeth was the one to cut off the rope and they were free. She set the crew about their duties and turned to James,
“You command them well,” he said.
“Well, I have you to thank for that,” Elizabeth replied. James looked confused and she clarified, “Who do you think was the first one to show me how a ship is run?” James smiled at her words and Elizabeth noticed for the first time that his smile was brittle. She frowned,
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” James said, looking out over the ocean. In truth, there was nothing wrong but that he loved her more than ever before. When she was a fine lady of society, the cultural paragon of class and taste, he had loved her for her wit and admired her for how she moved in society as adept as a fish in water. He’d enjoyed her fine beauty, so praised by everyone.
But now, he knew that love to have been artificial, a shallow inkling of the feeling he now had. Before she was half of herself, although neither of them had known it. There had been something missing that either Elizabeth had wanted to hide from everyone or even she hadn’t known she had. Now she was a fierce commander of her forces and James had never seen a more amazing, awesome sight than Elizabeth, hair wild and hands calloused, steering at the helm of a pirate ship.
James shortly joined her at the wheel,
“Where are we headed?”
“Shipwreck Cove.”
“More pirates, Elizabeth? Is that the wisest choice?” he asked seriously. Elizabeth turned to him,
“The pirates are meeting and like it or not, it appears that I am a pirate. There’s barely an honorable man among them and I will not let them ruin the seas by giving in to Beckett,” she said. James nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the railing,
“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” she looked at him quizzically and James smiled his brittle smile, “You’ve lied to me more times than I can count, you’ve slaughtered, and you’ve sailed with pirates long enough. Elizabeth Swann, a pirate.”
“James…” She said, her smile falling at his words. But Elizabeth couldn’t deny it. No matter how you sliced it, she had lied, killed, and sailed with pirates. In truth there were nights on land she couldn’t sleep without the sway of the ocean beneath her. Without quite realizing it, Elizabeth had become a pirate. She turned back to the wheel, not sure how she felt about that. James sighed, reaching up and sweeping off his hat and wig. His hair was well taken care of, compared to the matted mess when Elizabeth had last seen it. He sighed deeply, staring at the hat and wig in his hands,
“No, that isn’t quite fair. I’ve done the same,” Elizabeth looked at him and he waved his hand as if to dispel thoughts, “minus the lying, of course. But then again, betrayal might trump lying on the list of sins.” He looked so lost then, and Elizabeth thought she understood at least a little bit of it. The institution that he had put his faith in for so long had left him in the dust as it sailed on toward a slightly more corrupt way of dealing with the world. An honorable man, lost at sea on a pirate ship. Elizabeth stepped over and stood behind James, wrapping her arms around him to clasp in the front across his chest. He froze,
“Elizabeth, what—“
“You looked a little lost.” James looked ahead, staring out over the ocean and slowly one of his hands came up to cover hers. She leaned her head against his back, sighing deeply and she squeezed him a little tighter. It felt right, to have him there. Elizabeth hadn’t realized she was missing something on her ocean adventures until James was beside her. He understood her without pushing her to become one thing or another. He didn’t try to calm her wild nature, but loved—Elizabeth’s thoughts halted at that. Loved. James loved her. It was blatantly obvious when she thought about it. He’d broke with the Navy for her, forgiven her for playing him to save Will, and a thousand other little things she hadn’t thought much of but when she put them together, it made a complete picture of a man in love. She closed her eyes and whispered into his jacket, trusting the fabric to keep her secret,
Darcy is Tony's sister. Howard and Stane both knew, and took legal steps to keep her away from Stark Industries, the Stark money, and Tony, and she's pretty bitter about it.
It was an accident that Tony had even found out. He’dbeen going through Stane’s stuff, since someone had to and it was better if heknew what the man was up to before he torched everything. He was going througha file cabinet and his hand had happened to push hard against the back of thedrawer. Which then proceeded to move. Tony had stopped, tried again, and sureenough the back of the drawer shifted. He pulled the whole drawer out and founda secret compartment at the back, only visible when the entire drawer waspulled from the cabinet. There were a few folders but the one that first caughthis eye was the one in front marked ‘LEWIS’. Tony flipped it open and wasgreeted with a birth certificate. The name at the top said Darcy Lewis, fatherlisted as Joseph Jones and mother listed as…
Tony dropped the file, immediately picked up his phoneand hit speed dial one, tapping his foot impatiently. Finally, the other personpicked up,
“What is it, Tony? It’s one in the morning.”
“Pepper, there’s a file on a thing and it involvesfeelings and emotions and I’m delegating that to you and Pepper--”
“Tony, what is it?” said Pepper, sounding concerned.Tony sank into the chair behind him, shock in his tone,
“I have a sister.”
Two weeks later, Tony was walking up the stairs of anapartment building that was one phone call away from being condemned. The wallswere dark and no doubt full of asbestos. How did people live in a place likethis? How had his sister lived in a place like this? He arrived at the door andtook a deep breath. He was meeting his sister and it would be totally cool, they’dbe totally cool and not at all strange and distant. He knocked on the door. Heheard footsteps inside and then the door swung open on creaky hinges to reveala woman, shortish with long hair and something about her features immediatelyscreamed Maria Stark. He had obviously caught her at a bad time, as she wasdressed in flannel men’s pajama pants and a ratty t-shirt that rode up a littleon her midriff and had a toothbrush in her hand with toothpaste already on thebristles. She took Tony in for a second and jutted her hip out to rest againstthe doorframe,
“Nice of you to finally drop by.”
“So apparently we’re siblings. Half siblings.” Tonywas prepared for shock, disbelief, or even anger. He brought along a copy ofthe birth certificate so he could prove it to her. What he did not expect wasfor the toothbrush to go back into her mouth and for Darcy to say,
“Yep.” Tony felt himself choking on his own surprise,
“You knew?”
“That Maria Stark was my mother and that Howard Starkwas not my father?” she said in a garbled voice. She held up a finger andleaned out of view, spitting out the toothpaste suds out of view. Tony heardwhat he presumed was a kitchen sink running and Darcy rinse her mouth beforespitting the water out too. She put her toothbrush on the counter and leanedback into the doorway, “Yeah, I’ve known that since the get-go.”
“And you never thought to make a phone call and bringit up?” he asked in disbelief. Darcy narrowed her eyes at him,
“Mr. Stark and Stane told my dad that if he ever made itpublically known that I was related to the Starks, they’d ruin my father andfind some way to make me disappear. They wanted the bastard daughter away fromthe Stark name and more importantly, the Stark money. So you’ll have to forgiveme for not sending a Christmas card.” Darcy looked like she was about to shutthe door in his face when there were more footsteps behind her, quick andlight. A little girl, maybe three or four stopped short of the doorway. Whenshe saw Tony, she ducked behind Darcy’s leg. Tony frowned,
“What’s that?” He said, barely able to stop himselffrom pointing at the child. Darcy glared at him and put an arm around thegirl’s shoulders,
“This is my daughter.” And if you try to hurt her, I will kill you, was the impliedmessage, going by Darcy’s threatening glare. Tony looked from Darcy to thedaughter and back to Darcy. He fiddled with his sunglasses,
“Right. Okay. So, Howard and Obadiah are dead, so noone else is going to come threatening you. We’ll talk later. Soon later. You’regoing to move out of this hellhole. This,” he gestured at the walls withdisdain, “this is wrong. I’ll text you.” He stepped away from Darcy’s doorway.She eyed him suspiciously as she closed the door, saying just before itlatched,
“Come by tomorrow.” And then the door was shut. Tonyfelt like he’d been suckerpunched. He was a brother. He was an uncle. He had afamily.
A/N: What if Pirates of the Caribbean had dragons?
Of all the professions available to a young lady of a certain social standing, dragon riding was not the most commonly accepted. Still, that didn’t stop Elizabeth from standing on her balcony every morning to watch the day’s patrols take off. When she was younger, her father had fondly indulged her fantasies and make-belief stories and play-times involving a dragon riding heroine saving the land from an evil oppressor, but as she grew older and the dragons stayed at the forefront of her mind, Governor Swann did his best to gently lead her toward hobbies more becoming of her station, such as embroidery or if she was going to be an especially daring member of the upper crest, caring for the sick. Elizabeth smiled a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and did what he asked because she loved her father and didn’t want him worrying. However, that didn’t stop her from rising early and staying up late to watch the dragons come and go. Each night, in the privacy of her own mind, she wished she could be out there too.
Of course, the occasion for her to join the reptiles in flight came to pass at the most unexpected time.
A friend of the family, Captain James Norrington, soon to be Commodore, was to be promoted to the leader of the daily patrols. The celebration was to take place at the landing platform, a place Elizabeth hadn’t been permitted to visit since she was a fanciful child. As she dressed for the day, shooing her maids away with the excuse that today she could dress herself thank you very much, Elizabeth put on tight-fitting breeches beneath her dress and slipped a purse of coins into a pocket beneath her petticoats. Today the Commodore was being promoted, and today Elizabeth was running away.
The ceremony was grand, of course. Elizabeth wasn’t afraid to admit that she had barely spared a glance for the guest of honor, instead taking in the dragons lining the courtyard. Great beasts twice as tall as any man with wide wings, coming in all shapes and colors. Norrington’s dragon, Interceptor, was a grand red dragon, neck extended and poise regal as he observed his human. Green dragons and blue dragons and dragons with mixed color scales stood all around. But there was one off in the distance that caught her eye. The only black dragon in port, not paying any mind to the ceremony. Rather, it was watching the sky, not truly sightseeing as it was obviously looking for something in particular. Elizabeth knew that it was that one she would leave on.
As the ceremony concluded and everyone stood around chatting and congratulating the new commodore on his promotion. Elizabeth waited until no one was looking at her, then slipped into the shadows. There was a small nook in the walls, unnoticed unless you were trying to hide, that Elizabeth stepped into and quick shed the dress. She was glad of her lack of corset and pulled a cap over her head, hiding the elaborate coif of light brown hair. She put her pouch of coins into her pockets and stepped out, no longer Elizabeth Swann, noticed by many, but an unnamed rider just learning the trade. She didn’t run so much as walk with a purpose away from the gathering, toward the beautiful black dragon she’d seen. As she walked, Elizabeth marveled at how a few simple changes utterly altered everything. The lack of dress meant that she was less noticed. The lack of petticoats meant it was so much easier to move without trying to accommodate the extra width of the fabric. The entire outfit was cooler as well beneath the hot summer sky.
She reached her destination uninterrupted and Elizabeth was finally near the black dragon. It was only then that her courage started to flag. She’d done all the reading she could about how best to approach a dragon, how to request a ride. They were old creatures and thus prized manners. Offending it early in their meeting with accidental rudeness was not a chance Elizabeth was willing to take. She squared her shoulders and stepped forward. The dragon did not notice her. Elizabeth bowed,
“Oh great dragon, I request an audience with yourself.” she said. There was a snicker behind her,
“Lord, I haven’t heard that formal of a greeting in ages. Have you ever actually met a dragon before?” Elizabeth whirled around to find a man leaning against a tall rock, wearing the hardened black leather of a rider. Elizabeth tried not to show how unnerved she was not to have noticed him,
“No I have not, but I was clearly trying to. If you’re not going to be useful, you may leave.” she said. The man laughed and pushed himself off the rock and walked toward her,
“Well, I wish you luck with Pearl. She barely talks to me half the time.”
“Jack, that’s because the other half you’re slobbering drunk and utterly incomprehensible.” The dragon said as it finally stopped scanning the sky and instead brought its long neck around until it was able to fix Jack with a bright blue judgmental eye. Jack shrugged,
“You’re not wrong.” he said. Elizabeth the whole exchange with interest. She’d always known dragons to be fearsome stoic beasts that believed in manners and had very few personal connections to humans. Pearl, it seemed, was the exception. Elizabeth cleared her throat and rapidly readjusted her plan,
“What would it take to book passage off of Port Royal?”
“’Book passage’? We aren’t a passenger pair, miss.” Elizabeth was opened her mouth to protest being called ‘miss’ as it ruined her disguise, but the rider anticipated her comment, “And don’t tell me you’re a lad. There are some attributes of a woman that aren’t as easily hidden by a loose shirt as one might think.”
“I can pay you to take me.” Elizabeth said, reaching into her pocket. The rider eyed her for a moment, then looked at Pearl,
“What do you say?” he asked. Pearl eyed Elizabeth and she did her best not to fidget. It was a terrifying thing to be the sole subject of a dragon’s attention. Pearl thought about it, then said in a voice that implied a smile,
“I think we can make an exception for this particular female.” Jack grinned and Elizabeth pulled out her pouch,
“How much?”
“Where are you going?”
“Wherever I can become a dragon rider that isn’t here.” she said. Jack was about to voice a sum but Pearl interrupted him,
“No charge.”
“Pearl—“ whined Jack. Pearl nudged him gently with her snout, making him stumble just a bit from the force of it,
“She is a young lady in need of assistance. Surely there’s some gallant part of you positively shaking with excitement to be a knight in shining armor.” Pearl said. As the rider put the saddle on her, he grumbled,
“I thought the knight was the one who always slayed the dragon for the princess, not saddled it.”
“I’d like to see you try.” said Pearl, sharply exhaling a bit of smoke. It took Elizabeth a second to realize that was a laugh. Everything was happening so quickly. Honestly, she hadn’t truly expected to even make it out of the ceremony. As if summoned by her thoughts, she heard a commotion start up where she had left her father and the rest of polite society. They must have discovered her abandoned dress. Jack looked out and Elizabeth interrupted his curious perusal,
“I’m on a bit of a schedule.” she said. Jack looked at her, using his head to nod toward the commotion,
“They looking for you?”
“If we leave before they get here, it won’t matter.” Elizabeth said, already stepping forward and trying to figure out how one exactly got onto a dragon. It was significantly different from a horse, that much was certain. Jack sighed exasperatedly and grabbed her around the waist, ignoring her squawk of dismay, and set her on the saddle before climbing up in front of her. He clenched his legs as best he could around Pearl’s back and wrapped his hands in the leather straps at the front of the saddle,
“Hold tight to me, lovey.” he said. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Pearl moved from lying on her belly to a crouch and with a great whoosh of air, lifted them up into the sky. As Elizabeth sailed far from everything she’d ever known into a sky bright with sunlit possibilities, she wanted throw her arms wide and laugh with the exhilaration of it. She was free.
