#somniaignis

         ❛ oh? ❜   she  tucked  a  FINGER  under  his  chin,  raising  his  gaze  to  meet  hers.   it  took  a  bit  of  effort  to  suppress  the  smirk  begging  to  cross  her  lips;   he  could  hardly  hope  to  resist  this  activity,  and  she  knew  it.   ❛ i  wouldn’t  have  taken  YOU  for  the  sort  to  mind  this  kind  of  habit. ❜

         ❛ i suppose… two weeks or so? ❜

         the smile that she had been struggling to suppress finally pushed its way to the surface; it added a glow to her skin that even the sun could never have achieved. while maria had never given much thought to the idea of being a mother, she had to admit that now that it was an inevitably, she enjoyed the thought very much. she’d always had a bit of a maternal streak to her, caring for others and fretting over their safety. surely raising a child wouldn’t be much different. despite the unusual nature of their lives, she had every confidence that they could make it work.

         ❛ i’ve yet to tell edward. i’m not sure how he will react. ❜

       ‟ Well congratulations! You must be thrilled. ”

      Emma was genuinely happy for her best friend; no matter their separation and the reasons for it, no matter her own lingering disapproval, there was no greater joy than to become a parent and bring a child into the world. Children were undoubtedly challenging, as she had heard from her sister and encountered during her visits to her estate and encounters with her children, but Maria was one of the most caring people she knew. She would be just fine -- the issue, it seemed, was the matter of the child’s father.

         ❛ i  would  say  carbon  dioxide  is  a  more  fitting  description, ❜  she  quipped,  not  lifting  her  eyes  from  her  PATIENT.   she  understood  the  captain’s  concern  for  a  member  of  his  crew,  but  this  seemed  OVERZEALOUS  to  the  point  of  irritation.   ❛ considering  that  your  hovering  is  rather  SUFFOCATING  me. ❜

         ❛ i  dinnae  OWE  ye  anythin’! ❜  she  exclaimed,  brows  pulled  low  over  bright  blue  eyes.   who’d  he  think  he  was,  CLAIMING  such  a  thing?   ❛ if  anythin’,  you  owe  me  for  interrupting  my  practice! ❜

         ❛ there’s  no  point  in  lying  to  me. ❜   she  spoke  matter-of-factly  as  she  rolled  bandages,  the  thoughtless  activity  bringing  a  sort  of  PEACE  to  her.   it  was  a  relief,  in  many  ways,  to  be  helping  people  again.   granted,  claire  had  never  expected  to  find  herself  in  the  company  of  PIRATES,  but  she  was  adjusting  fairly  quickly,  all  things  considered,  thanks,  in  small  part,  to  her new  captain.   she  raised  her  head  a  fraction  of  an  inch,  dark  curls  BOUNCING  with  the  movement  as  her  GAZE  landed  upon  him.   ❛ i  can  recognize  a  cry  for  help  when  i  see  one. ❜

         she was quiet for a few moments, dark eyes studying her son’s face. though she had been gone from his life for some time, maria found that reading his face was no longer an impossibility. she’d learned a great deal about him since she’d returned from the land of the dead, had picked up on some of his tells ( though it was usually intuition that alerted her to the possibility for dishonesty ). but she got no sense of that now. he was as genuine as could be, and about a ship, of all things.

         ❛ you must have endured a great deal for her. i can’t imagine having so great an attachment for anything that came easily. ❜

      A faint smile flickered across his features at her words, taken aback by just how perceptively she’d been able to gleam so much from him. It was to be expected, perhaps; he was a part of her after all, but following all these years apart, Jack hadn’t anticipated being so easily read. Still, if there was one thing he was happy to talk about, it was the beloved ship that had come to symbolise the freedom he so craved.

      ‟ that’s why I gave her the name. I had a friend, a long time ago, who told me about the parable of the pearl of great price -- something so valuable that you’d give up everything else just to have it. when all was said and done, there wasn’t a name for her more appropriate than that. ”

       His eyes drifted from her to the Black Pearl, wordlessly tracing her ratlines, her sails, her rigging.

         ❛ you think? ❜

         blue eyes sought out jack’s figure in the distance. he looked to be deeply in the thought about something or other, likely strategies for their next hunt. mary’s worlds shouldn’t have come as much surprise; the two of them were almost always together. they were a team, deadlier together than they were apart.

         ❛ always just thought he kept me around ‘cause it was convenient. ❜

      ‟ fucking hell, Anne. have you really not noticed? ”

      Mary had thought it obvious, but then again she was on the outside looking in at the two of them, as thick as thieves and virtually never parted from one another. She cared for them both, deeply, but she would be a fool to ignore the strength of the connection that held Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny together. They’d be put in the ground together, of that she had no doubt.

      Sparing Anne a lingering, knowing glance, the faintest ghost of a smile played on her lips.