War and the Sea

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:25 pm

"Did you look over the seal skin you found? Did it seem odd to you? Beautiful yes? But not treated as other fur would be."

Isla looked up at him. Her large dark brown eyes met his blue ones. How like the sea they are. Her hair, dark and long hung heavily where the ends were still wet.

"You know a selkie is a seal but not really just a seal. When she removes her coat she is a woman. With her coat she can become a seal again, without it she is stuck. My father took my mother's coat. My mother was a selkie and he took her skin and hid it from her. I am her only daughter. I am just like her."

Her eyes stared into his. Her voice was still low.

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:40 pm

Part of him wanted to tell her that Selkies weren’t real, but he couldn’t bring himself to. As a child he’d always been entranced by the tales his aunt would tell him of the seals that would come ashore and transform into beautiful women, take lovers, have children, and one day disappear into the sea again never to be seen. She’d warned him as a wee bairn to never fall in love with a woman with a seal coat, because she’d break his heart. His aunt had believed in Selkies, and so did Alysander.

The false notes he’d heard in her voice, the story that hadn’t quite made sense... This piece of the puzzle made everything come together. The reason he’d found a beautiful seal skin lying abandoned on the rocks. Wallace finding a woman naked and wandering. The lack of boat or footprints or any sign of her family. The reason she was not concerned about going back to her kin before she found her coat.

She could not. She was trapped on land because a man had stolen her coat and traded it away.

A shudder ran through him, a cold premonition of doom he could not understand, accompanied by a wave of immense guilt. Her strange behavior, her lack of understanding, her constant confusion. He’d mocked her, he’d punished her, he’d pushed her away. She was a stranger to the land, more like a child than an adult, at least in the ways of humans. He’d held her to standards she could never meet, because she was not what she appeared to be. She was not merely a woman. Isla was a selkie.

He wanted to apologize, but could not find the words. What words were there for this? He’d stolen the greater part of her life. He hadn’t meant to, but he had all the same. And he had been unkind- no, cruel. He had mistreated her time and time again. She had confused and bewitched him, so he had pushed her away and recreated her in his mind to be a person he detested.

“We’ll get yer coat back,” said Alysander, voice barely more than a whisper. He stroked her hair and tucked it behind her ears so it wouldn’t hang forward and hide her face. He put his hand under her chin and raised her face, making her look at him. “I promise ye I’ll find yer coat.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:00 pm

"We'll get yer coat back."

She felt his hands as he brushed her hair from her face. His hand lifted her chin and she was staring deep into his eyes.

"Alysander...."

He seemed to believe her. She had thought it would be so much harder, that this man who disliked her so much would scoff and mock her for being not right in the head. Instead he was promising her that he would get her coat back.

"Do you mean it?"

Her hands moved to his face. Her eyes sought his. Her fingers stroked the stubble on his cheeks.

"You know...you believe me....I thought you would not but...I was scared..."

Isla leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. She placed her head on his shoulder and hugged him.

"Thank you."

She wanted to cry she was so relieved but the moment felt heavier than that. The air around them felt like it had shifted. Isla closed her eyes as she kept her arms around him. For the first time since she was found by Wallace she felt as if she was at peace, almost whole but with just one part missing.

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:07 pm

There was only the briefest hesitation before he put his arms around her and held her close.

“Aye, I believe ye,” he confirmed, stroking the soft hair of the woman in his arms. “I canna help but believe ye.”

He leaned back, breaking their connection. “I’ve heard tales a selkie’s anger. Are ye going to bring the tides down on me?” he asked, not joking. “I wasn’a cruel t’ ye because I got any joy out o’ it, I promise ye that. I did what I did to protect the family that I have left.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:02 pm

Isla gasped as Alysander put his arms around her. It really did feel like he believed her, that he was going to help her. There were hands on her head, softly and gently stroking her hair.

He believes me. He truly believes me.

She felt exhausted as if holding in the secret had been like a weight on her shoulders. She suddenly felt less like she was drowning, as if she could finally take a breath.

Alysander pulled away, leaning back in the saddle to look at her. There was no humour in his tone as he asked if she was going to seek vengeance of some kind against him.

Isla shook her head. “No Alysander I will not be doing anything to harm you. I seek no revenge. Just my coat. My anger is....hard and comes at a price but I do not....”

She struggled for a moment to try and explain how she felt, what she was thinking.

“Rhiannon told me you were just protecting your clan. I thought you were just a brute. Then you did not seem so mean or cruel but defensive?”

Her eyes scanned his face as if trying to figure out if her wording was correct.

“I did not think you were doing it to be cruel. That perhaps by your nature you are mean and gruff. But....”

Again her eyes searched his face.

“I do not blame you for trading the skin. You found it. I was just disheartened to learn after everything that had happened with the camp and then your man..Wallace that I could not simply go home.”

Isla sighed softly.

“I have made things worse by not understanding. Nicholas...all of that I did not understand that it would affect you..I mean I did but...I was overwhelmed. He wanted me and I do not know how to respond to that. I tried but failed.”

Her eyes found his again. Her hand touched his cheek.

“I never meant to hurt your pride or insult you any more than you intended to be cruel. You were protecting those you care for and I was just unaware....”

Isla bit her lip. She lowered her hand from his face.

“Alysander I am sorry for everything. I did not meant to cause you so much trouble. I just wanted to come ashore and see. It has been a long time since...”

Her head rested on his chest. Isla closed her eyes and silent tears fell.

“No Alysander I will not call the tides down on you.”

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:38 pm

With Alysander listening silently, Isla poured her heart out, explaining to him all the things she couldn’t fully say before. They’d both been in a tough spot, he realized, more than either realized. Isla, hiding a secret most would not believe, and he, hearing the falsehood in her voice, had thought she meant his people harm somehow. He’d never trusted her, even after their grudging companionship. Much of what happened made better sense now, and he was sure the following days would come with many epiphanies.

Isla stroked his cheek, then let her hand drop and leaned against him as she cried. He rested his chin atop her head and patted her back consolingly. She was emotionally distraught- but then, she’d been through a lot in the last week.

“No Alysander I will not call the tides down on you.”

Alysander breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He didn’t like to call himself a superstitious man, but he believed in many things that could not be proven. Isla wasn’t really human, and he’d heard tales of Selkies seeking revenge on human men and women. Isla did have a strong temper, though it tended to blow over quickly. His own temper burned lower, but for much longer. He was the type that could nurse a grudge for years.

“We should get going,” he told her. “Ye can ride in front o’ me, if ye like. Ye can pull yer other leg around n’ straddle the horse, or stay as ye are and ride side saddle.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:02 pm

Isla looked up at him. “I do not want to move. I would like to stay.”

She adjusted briefly in his lap, trying not to crowd him too much. One arm went around him as her body leaned slightly against him. Her head rested against Alysander.

“Thank you for believing me.”

Her voice was a soft whisper as she settled in for the ride. Her eyes closed and she listened to the beating of his heart.

It was comforting to her, the steady and strong beat. Added to that was the sound of his breathing deep in his chest.

Her hand, the one not around his back was placed on his chest and her fingers lightly gripped his shirt.

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:21 pm

Isla curled up to him, resting her head against his chest. She wrapped an around him for balance on the saddle, and he felt the weight of her hand on his shirt. Alysander circled his arms around her and picked up the reins, leading the horse out of the line of trees and back toward the path.

The atmosphere between them had changed, yet still he did not feel at ease. Isla was a selkie, and when she got her skin back she would return the sea. Why was she burrowing closer, trying to break through his defenses? In a week or so she would be gone.

Never fall in love with a woman who has a seal coat, Alysander. She may be a selkie, and if she is, she’ll leave ye broken hearted. Selkies cannot stay on land, m’boy. Their soul is the sea.

His aunt had warned him, and he’d heeded her advice. He remembered seeing a village girl with a seal coat once, and he’d avoided her for years, believing she might be a selkie. Now it seemed unlikely that she was; he’d later discovered the girl couldn’t swim and was afraid of the sea. Isla was like the sea itself, though. Her tides were strong, but they could blow this way and that. He did not want to be caught up in her storm.

He’d truly hurt her last time he’d pushed her away, though. Maybe it was better to just let her be. He wouldn’t encourage her, he told himself. She’d come to the realization that they’d never see each other again soon enough.

They joined the path once more, and he let the horse they rode determine their pace. In the afternoon he led the animal to the river bank once more, and when they remounted he pulled Isla into his lap as she’d been before.

The sun was lowering in the orange sky when they caught up with Isaac. He turned back to look at them briefly, took in the sight of Isla riding cradled next to Alysander, and whitened. He quickly turned around again, but Alysander could see the man’s neck turning red above his collar.

“There’s yer friend,” he murmured to Isla, and with a sigh spurred their horse on to catch up. “Isaac,” he called. “D’ye still want to travel with us?” It was almost unbearable even asking, and he prayed the man would decline.

Instead, Isaac nodded and smiled, looking as if the world had suddenly righted itself. “Are you sure that’s alright?” he asked, speaking louder to compensate for the deafening quality of the horses’ trampling footsteps. “I don’t want to put you or Isla out.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:39 pm

Isla relaxed. Something about Alysander just made her feel calmer. The horse was moving but she was focused on being close to Alysander. He was strong and stable. A rock for her to focus on.

When they mounted the horse again Alysander pulled her to the front of the saddle again. Once there she snuggled close to him. He knew what she was and did not scorn her for it. He believed her. It meant more to her than she thought possible.

Isla had closed her eyes again, even dozing slightly as she rested against Alysander’s chest. His words made her frown.

“Friend?”

She opened her eyes to see Issac on his horse. Alysander offered for him to travel with them.

Isla looked up at Alysander. She was surprised he was offering but thought it nice of him. She offered Issac a slight smile before resting her head against Alysander again.

"Issac why are you travelling to Skye? Do you have family there?"

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:28 pm

Isaac hadn’t caught the begrudging tone in Alysander’s half-hearted reply, and he smiled in relief. Perhaps he hadn’t offended the pair after all, he thought. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last, that he’d misunderstood a person.

"Issac why are you travelling to Skye?” asked Isla. “Do you have family there?"

Isaac smiled at her and pushed his glasses a little higher up the bridge of his nose. “No, no, all my family lives in England,” he told her. “There’s a boys boarding school on the island, and I’ve been invited to teach there.”

Alysander wasn’t listening. “We’re losin’ light,” he told them both. “Let’s find the water and make camp while we can still see.”

Isaac nodded in agreement and steered his horse away from the dirt path. The river had narrowed, and it was far down the hill. Alysander followed, his horse carefully picking her way down the hill. Near the river- now more of a stream- the land levelled out slightly. They found a suitable place to make camp, and Alysander helped Isla down from the horse.

“Ye’ll have t’ share my tent tonight,” he told her. “Is that alright with ye?”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 6:38 pm

Isla looked at Issac, about to ask what he was going to teach but Alysander mentioned losing light. She looked up at him and nodded

The horses moved from the road and onto the grass. Isla waited until Alysander helped her down. She looked up at him as he commented on his tent.

Isla's eyes were wide as she kept her attention on his face.

"It is alright with me as long as it is not an issue for you."

She frowned a little, remembering how uncomfortable the previous night had been. "I can find a place if it is not what you would wish. I do not want to impose on you but I appreciate the offer and will accept."

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:28 pm

Alysander raised one eyebrow, fighting back a smirk. “Ye can sleep where ye like, Isla. I’m sure Isaac would share his tent with ye, too.”

He walked away, laughing, and began to set up their tent for the night. Isaac was doing the same a few paces away, and within no time two tents stood. “Isla,” Alysander said, approaching her. “I’m going t’ go gather some dry fall for our fire t’night. I’ll leave ye here with yer friend.”

He took the horse and went back up the hill. There were in a clearing, with no trees around, but up the hill and on the other side of the road there was a wooded area. Isaac was near the stream, peering into it. He dipped his hand into the current and nodded his head. “I’m going for a swim,” he announced. “Do you want to come?”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:45 pm

Isla's eyes went wide as Alysander she could sleep where she liked and that Issac would likely share his tent as well. She watched as the men worked to get the tents standing. She was not sure if she should make her own shelter or share with Alysander. Sharing with Issac made her feel shy and nervous since she did not know him and after his declaration she was a bit more wary.

She nodded as Alysander moved off to get wood. Her attention turned to Issac.

"I have not much in the way of other clothes if I get these ones wet. You swim and I will sit here."

Isla smiled and approached the bank. She sat down at the water's edge. She wanted desperately to feel it, to climb in but she could not strip down and she did not want to get her dress wet.

"What will you teach at this school Issac?"

It was a foreign concept to her, school but she found herself intrigued and curious about the topic and about Issac.

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:54 pm

With no hint of shyness or feelings of impropriety, Isaac stripped, laid his clothes and glasses on the grass, and waded into the water. He was an extremely normal looking man; he was of average height and average build. His usual pallor had been chased away after spending so many days outdoors on his recent travels. His medium brown hair was desperately in need of a cut, and tended to fall forward into his eyes quite often.

Isaac ducked his head under the water, then came back up and waded in front of where Isla stayed on the bank. “I’ll be teaching science and maths,” he answered. “Actually, I’m keen on introducing a program for the girls in the village. They can’t live in the dorms of course, but I visited the school last year and quite a few young women were interested in taking courses. The headmaster was less than thrilled with the idea though.”

He shrugged, enjoying the cool, clean water. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?” he asked. “I find a swim quite refreshing after a day of riding on the dusty road.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:06 pm

Isla turned very red as Issac stripped down and entered the water. She longed to do the same. Isla looked over her shoulder to where Alysander had gone.

"I should wait and see what Alysander plans to do when he gets back."

She tucked her knees to her chin and looked at Issac.

"Math and science?"

She had no idea what those were.

"I do not understand what those mean...."

Isla's head tilted and her hair fell forward. She brushed it from her eyes.

"Can you explain what that is?"

Her eyes were wide and full of curiousity as she looked at him.

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:25 pm

Submerged to the shoulders, Isaac looked at Isla quizzically, head cocked to the side. “Explain what maths and science are?” he asked, and his mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown. He was unsure where to begin with such a broad question. “Math is... Well, numbers, I suppose. I teach geometry, mostly, which is math in relation to shapes.” He swam closer, and half emerged from the water he began to draw lines in a muddy patch of the bank. “See? This is a triangle. It has three sides and three points. It’s flat, but look- if you do this...” He expanded the drawing, turning it into a pyramid. “Now the triangle is one face of this pyramid. You can’t see it in the drawing, but the pyramid has five faces and five points.”

He wasn’t sure if his explanation of maths was any good, but he’d never before been asked such an abstract question. The students he taught not only knew what math was, they had a good understanding of it by the time they entered his classroom. Science was even harder to explain.

“Now, science... Hmm. You don’t ask easy questions, do you?” He crawled out of the water and back onto the grass. He grabbed the shirt he’d been wearing before and started drying himself off with it, lacking any sort of modesty or embarrassment as he did so. “I suppose you could say that science is how we explain the things that happen and the things that are. Science can be anything from studying the stars and trying to find out why they stay always in the same formation, or... Or trying to find the reason a man’s heart may begin to pound when a pretty woman smiles at him.”

Isaac smiled, then pulled on his trousers. He spread his wet shirt out on a dry patch of grass and used stones to weigh it down so that it wouldn’t blow away with the wind. He returned to Isla and sat next to her, legs folded, elbows resting on his knees. “There’s a scientific reason for you getting embarrassed when I told you I loved you, for instance,” he told her. “Only, I don’t know the reason. Not yet anyway. One day, perhaps.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:58 am

Isla was so confused as Issac talked about numbers and shapes. She had never been taught those things. She listened with rapt attention even though it made very little sense.

Her cheeks reddened again as he climbed out of the water. Isla was looking at him but not staring. She wanted to know more. Explain the things that happen....things that are....

Issac was drying off and Isla was stuck on the idea that someone could explain...things. Her brows were knitted together as she tried to understand. Her fingers idly played with her hair. Issac sat beside her and Isla looked over at him.

“The reason I was embarrassed?” Isla felt her cheeks warm. “Issac I do not understand love or how you can think you love me when had not spoken to me or I to you. My understanding is that you have to know the person before you care about them.”

She began to work the dark strands into a braid. Her eyes moved to her hair as she watched the braid form under her fingers.

“After the days I have had and trying so hard to figure out emotions, you telling me you thought you loved me just felt overwhelming. Alysander and I had just been discussing Lord Lochcarron and how he had kissed me and wanted me. Alysander does not like me very much or maybe it was did not.....”

Isla looked over to where Alysander had gone.

“Perhaps he likes me a little more now and is less likely to get cross. I do not know...”

She dropped her braid and it landed on her shoulder. She smiled at Isaac. “It is hard to be told something like that when you do not really understand people. I spend a lot of time alone.”

Isla shrugged. “I am not explaining well but I was overwhelmed and yes a little embarrassed to be put on the spot is all.”

She stretched her legs out in front of her.

“Tell me more about science.”

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:51 pm

Though he had sat near her, there remained a comfortable distance between them, enough space perhaps for two more people between them. Isaac changed positions, mimicking Isla’s posture by stretching out his legs, then leaning back on his elbows.

“Issac I do not understand love or how you can think you love me when had not spoken to me or I to you,” Isla told him. Isaac cocked his head, intrigued.

“Does communication constitute love?” he asked, then smiled brightly. “If so, let us continue talking. However, I would disagree with that line of logic with the following: most mothers immediately feel love for their babies, and no communication has occurred. The mother doesn’t even know her child yet, and in fact it will be some time before the baby even develops personality traits that would differentiate it from any other baby. Yet women do not feel love for every baby they see. I would argue that neither communication nor knowledge of a person constitute love.”

SkullsandSlippers · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SkullsandSlippers** on Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:20 pm

Isla frowned. "I do not know about mother's and babies."
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "My father says he loved my mother but he did not know her or she him well till they were married. Perhaps it is something you just know?"

Isla looked honestly confused. She knew she felt something when she and Alysander kissed. She knew that Nicholas wanted her and she certainly wanted him but she did not know if it was love.

"What is love and how can you tell it from other emotions?"

Her tone was sincere. Isla truly was looking for help in figuring out emotions and feelings.

"I just thought...why is it you think you love me? How do you know it might be love?"

LockandKey · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LockandKey** on Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:03 pm

Leaning back on his elbows, Isaac studied Isla with a mixture of curiosity and enjoyment. Her face is cute when she’s thinking about things. She looks very confused. Perhaps I didn’t do a very good job explaining.

"What is love and how can you tell it from other emotions?" asked Isla. "I just thought...why is it you think you love me? How do you know it might be love?"

Isla was asking him very abstract questions- questions he either could not adequately answer or didn’t know the answer to himself. “I think it must be different for everyone,” he hypothesized. “Some people are particularly compelled why what they can see, so perhaps finding someone they find beautiful is enough to constitute love for them. Others seem to be driven more by what they feel, both emotionally and physically. Perhaps because a person makes them feel safe or desirable, or because they enjoy intercourse with that person- that may be enough.”

But why did he love Isla? Did he really? He’d certainly thought so when they’d all been captured by Lochcarron’s camp. She was pretty, certainly. There was a regularity to her features Isaac quite liked, and she exuded a look of health. However, he’d been more intrigued by the sadness that was almost palpable around her, and the strength that she’d shown. Isaac wasn’t sure yet whether he liked the man-who-was-not-her-husband; the big Scot seemed to treat his female companion with a cold, disparaging attitude. For all that he’d seen, Isla had never let her kindness waver, and she seemed to be a very determined woman.

There was more to it than that, though. Isaac knew he often misunderstood things, or simply didn’t understand them at all. For all his intelligence, he lacked true common sense and his emotional intelligence was low. He was often baffled, and could be taken advantage of quite easily. Though Isla certainly did not suffer from quite the same problems he did, she felt like a different face of the same coin. When the man she traveled with had told him that he and Isla were not married after all, Isaac had had an almost insane image light his mind- an image of the two of them facing the world together, figuring out the things people took for granted. Together.

Although he could often be quite clueless, he’d become aware that he did not catch her attention. Not the way Alysander did, anyway. Isaac wondered what exactly had happened to make Isla like him so much. Perhaps, he considered, she was one of the people that was motivated by what they saw. Alysander was a handsome man, though he seemed to have a rather rough personality.

It was a conundrum, Isaac decided.

War and the Sea

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