Calm Before the Storm [Isabella]

[Isaac Thorburn]

The sun was shining above, the air was hot with the tell tale signs of a coming rain, the sky was clear and bright, and Isaac was enjoying himself. He had decided to go on a little excursion that day and take time off from the busy life of the city. He had decided on heading towards the outer city beach, a relatively peaceful area where Isaac could walk and think, as well as enjoy the sea. Despite the hot weather Isaac was still dressed in his officers uniform, (what some would think as crazy but what Isaac thinks as proper fashion), wearing his bicorn lightly atop his head. Isaac also carried his weapons, he had heard rumors that pirates were occasionally spotted on the beach, but despite the precaution Isaac was worry free.

He walked lightly, taking his time and keeping a smooth and even pace. Isaac was constantly glancing about, enjoying the sights of the trees and flowers of the land, as well as the shining beaches and gently flowing waves of the sea. There was no one about, exactly what Isaac was looking for and hoping for. This would be a perfect day, and the only thing that could be better? Being on his ship at sea, but at this point Isaac was not expecting much on that part for a long time. Although news of pirate attacks and raids were still coming in at a constant and alarming rate, Isaac’s commanders had deemed it necessary for the Sea Sprite to remain in harbor, to “defend” the city. Of course Isaac viewed this as ridiculous. Isaac’s ship was built for fighting in the open seas, plus the city already had the bulk of the Methon navy defending it, which were much larger and powerful ships.

Isaac did not think about this long however, and soon his thoughts drifted astray, thinking whatever the moment decided. Eventually Isaac found a small bay, the water cutting into the land and creating a small pool of water that seemed separate from the rest. The area was lined with trees and ferns, but the pool was surrounded by a distinct clearing. The pool was encrusted in fine, white sand that gleamed in the sun, giving the entire area an aura of peace. Isaac smiled and went over towards the pool of water. He found a small tree that was the nearest to the water and sat down, leaning his back against the bark of the tree. Isaac let out a deep breath and glanced upwards towards the sky. Although most of the sky was clear, clouds had begun moving in and Isaac could definitely tell that the temperature was slightly dropping. Despite the coming rain, Isaac leaned back and relaxed, closing his eyes and falling into a trance like state of rest.

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella herself was up for a day of peace, and she figured that Methon was the best place to get that. Zanan was almost never peaceful, and it was hard to get a moment alone there. She sailed into Methon on a small raft, not drawing any notice. Much of the navy was looking at the harbor, but she had just washed up on the beach. She had pulled the small raft ashore and hid it in the trees, hopefully it would still be there when she wanted to leave...

She had made her way down the beach, walking in the water. She wore a rather plain light blue dress, and no shoes. She had left those on the raft. The dress went to her ankles, and drug in the water as she walked. She liked the feeling of the light, flowy material - it was wonderful for a warm day like today.

She sighed gently as she kicked the water a liltle, looking out over the water. She wished she could find a crew, she wanted to be sailing on the open ocean so much. It was the one thing that was constant in her life, up until recently. She sighed again as she closed her eyes, opening them again after a moment. She left the water and continued walking, making her way along the shore, until she found the same area that Isaac was in. Pushing through the trees, she kept going.. until she tripped.

Right over Isaac.

She twisted as she fell, landing in his lap on her backside, looking up at him. Her face flushed deeply, and she squeaked out an apology. "Sorry!"

[Isaac Thorburn]

The gentle lull of the waves, the squawking of sea birds, the gentle breeze through the trees, the sound of splashing water…splashing water? Isaac opened his eyes and glanced about. He though he heard movement in the pool, but as far as he could see nothing was near him. He sighed, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. He needed to get out to sea; his time on land was getting stranger and stranger. Isaac closed his eyes again and began relaxing once more, until suddenly he was attacked!

His assailant struck Isaac in the side with some blunt weapon and then proceeded to jump on him and attack with all out savagery and fury. Or not. Isaac quickly opened his eyes and found a woman wearing a light blue dress lying atop his lap. The woman was blushing and quickly squeaked out an apology, being too flustered to talk. Isaac almost laughed, but quickly restrained himself. He smiled and stood up, helping the woman up to her feet and helping her brush off some dirt that had found itself onto the dress. He then looked at the woman, smiling and keeping a friendly atmosphere.

Isaac spoke, glancing about as he did so. He was looking for anybody else that was in the area, but it appeared the woman was alone. ”It’s alright. What brings you to this fine spot all by yourself? We aren’t that close to the city.” Isaac picked up his hat and motioned for the woman to follow him back towards the beach, at the edge of the sea. ”By the way, my name is Isaac. May I know yours?”

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella was indeed flustered, so flustered that she found it difficult to speak anything more than that simple apology. She was also very annoyed with herself, she should have been paying more attention to her surroundings! The fact that she tripped over someone bothered her. She felt bad too, well.. hopefully she hadnt hurt him.

When he smiled and helped her up, she smiled back at him, the blush still on her face. He helped her brush off, and she nodded appreciatively to him.

When he asked her what she was doing there, she shrugged slightly, looking at him still. "I wanted a little bit of peace, and out here is a beautiful place. A wonderful, peaceful place." She watched as he picked up as hat, and finally realized that he was wearing a naval uniform. That could cause a problem... well, there was no way for him to find out who she really was, so she should be fine.. right? As long as she kept her composure...

"I'm Isabella. It's a pleasure to meet you, Isaac." So far, so good. "I am very sorry about.. well, earlier." Her flush deepened as she followed him, speaking up again. "I guess I wasn't watching exactly where I was going."

[Isaac Thorburn]

Isaac listened quietly as the woman spoke. She was named Isabella, and apparently she was here for the same reason Isaac was. He smiled as he continued walking and waited for Isabella to finish speaking. She apologized once more and Isaac glanced at her before speaking. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you as well Isabella. And it’s fine, really. I can understand, with such beautiful weather, who could pay attention? We need to enjoy it as long as we can as well; a storm appears to be moving in.” As he said this Isaac glanced up, frowning slightly. In the distance he stopped a few gray clouds, but they were well off so Isaac paid them little attention.

He glanced back towards Isabella and stopped walking, standing at the edge of the water. He glanced outwards towards the sea and continued speaking. ”I’ve been here for quite some time but I have never had the pleasure of meeting you. If you don’t mind, where are you from?” Isaac hoped this question would not be offensive to the lady, but he was truly curious. After living on the island for over a year you think that its people would become known to you, but as far as Isaac could remember he had not once seen the woman that now stood before him.

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella smiled at Isaac again as he smiled at her, listening to him as he spoke. She was glad that he was not angry at her for what had happened. A lot of the men she spent time around would definitely have been angry with her because of that little mishap. Now that she thought about it, that was probably the closest she had ever been to man. She always kept her guard up around men. Especially pirates. Because often, they only wanted one thing from the women of the island.

She was kind of lost in her thoughts, but luckily she noticed when Isaac stopped, and stopped as well, looking up at him with a slight smile. However, his next question had her panicing. Oh no! What should she say? She had no idea how to make up something to keep him off guard. Something clicked though, and she spoke after a moment. "I'm a refugee... my parents owned a small farm." She didn't know much about farming, but she figured she could pull something out of nowhere if Isaac asked. "It was attacked, my parents were killed.. I managed to escape and came here. I figured I'd be safe here." She hated lying, but she really didn't want to get thrown in the dungeons either.. "I just arrived recently..." She trailed off, quite unsure of how refugees were actually treated here. Like, where she was supposedly staying if she was a refugee. Damn. She wondered if Isaac would ask about that next.

[Isaac Thorburn]

Isaac listened carefully as Isabella explained how she arrived recently on the island. His smile was replaced by a distinct frown. Pirates, he should have known. Those ruthless animals were known to cause such grievances, and Isaac could barely stand and listen to Isabella tell her tale of how the pirates killed her parents and then drove her into becoming a refugee on Methon. Isaac glared out into the sea but then relaxed a bit. He could do nothing, and he would not let himself become angry. He noticed his hand had gone to the hilt of his sabre, and released his grip immediately.

Isaac glanced at Isabella, his expression that of sorrow. ”I am sorry to hear of your losses, please accept my condolences. Those pirates should not have caused you such grievances.” Isaac glanced back out towards the sea and noticed a distinct wall of dark clouds approaching. It appeared that the coming weather was not merely rain, but a large storm. Isaac turned back towards Isabella and beckoned for her to follow him as he began speaking. ”I believe it would be best for us to begin heading back towards the city, a storm appears to be making its way here and we are quite far out. Do you have a place to stay? If you don’t I have room in my residence and would be delighted to give you a room until proper arrangements can be made.”

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella noticed the different emotions that flashed onto Isaac's face as she spoke of pirates, and also noticed that his hand had gone to his sabre. She flinched slightly, and then hoped he didn't notice that. Or that perhaps he would just think it was because of the pirates and her so-called losses.

She did really hate lying. She felt guilty already, and she feared this would not be the end of it.

She nodded slightly as he spoke his condolences, speaking in a soft voice. "I appreciate that, Isaac." She watched as he looked out over the water, her gaze following his, and another frown crossed her face. That did not look good.. how was she supposed to get out of here now?

Isaac surprised her again, as he motioned for her to follow and began speaking again. He offered her a place to stay with him. That was strange. She wasn't used to that much kindness... after all, kindness wasn't really something that pirates were made of.

"Th-thank you Isaac. That means a lot to me. I don't have a place to stay." But it was also another hurdle. How was she supposed to get away if he was watching her all the time, if she was living in his house? Well, she'd have to figure out a way. Her life was on Zanan. It really wasn't much of a life, but it was her life..

[Isaac Thorburn]

Isaac continued walking as Isabella thanked him for the offer and informed Isaac that she did not have a place to stay. Isaac nodded; he figured this would be the case. As far as Isaac knew refugees were welcome on the island, but with the large amount of pirate raids there was a lot of them, and room was running low. He smiled however as she accepted his offer and glanced in here direction. ”Wonderful! I will try to find you a place tomorrow morning but for tonight you shall dine with me. As soon as we arrive I will have a spare bedroom prepared for you.”

Isaac continued walking as he glanced about. They were still about half an hour away from the main area of the city, unless they decided to take the main road in which case it would be more around fifteen minutes. Isaac however did not see the rush, and decided to remain quite. If Isabella began showing signs of discomfort walking on the beach he would then make the notion of going for the main road. Wanting something to talk about Isaac spoke once more, inquiring a little bit about Isabella’s life. ”Do you have any interests or hobbies? I myself enjoy music as well as horse riding, although I haven’t gone out with my horse for quite some time.” Isaac was really just spending the time, and wondered exactly what he was going to do once they arrived at his home. Sure Isaac was used to entertaining guests, but his friends or business acquaintances, who were mostly males. This would be the first time he would be having a female over for the night, but Isaac figured he would worry about the details later.

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief as Isaac did not probe further, glad that, for the moment, she had a nice cover with this man. She appreciated it, most definitely, though it did present some problems as well. Oh well, she'd deal with that later.

"Thank you again, Isaac..." She paused, looking at him as they walked. "I dont have any money for a place though." She did, but it was back on Zanan. "Besides a few coins, and this dress.." That would be what it looked like anyway, because that was all that she had brought with her.

She followed him, loving that he stayed on the beach. She enjoyed the place very much, she always liked to see the ocean. She looked over at him again as he asked about her hobbies, and she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I like to travel, being a refugee has been rather exciting. I've seen lots of new places." It was getting much easier to lie. "I mean, besides the dead parents part..." She figured he would understand what she meant. "I love to learn new things. I especially enjoy reading." Though, she didnt have many books, or even access to many books. Her father had taught her, and even though she was a commoner.. she had learned, and she had loved it. "I've actually never ridden a horse. I'm kind of afraid of them." This was the truth, and rather hard to admit. She chuckled slightly and looked back at Isaac, watching for his reaction.

[Isaac Thorburn]

As they walked Isaac noticed that Isabella seem to relax, finally getting used to his company. She thanked him again and informed Isaac that she had little money or belongings. ”We can deal with that later, it is no worry.” He listened as Isabella informed Isaac that she enjoyed travelling, and besides having to run from her destroyed home and family, she was enjoying herself. Isaac admired this, for someone to turn such a disaster into somewhat of an adventure or journey and enjoy themselves, Isaac viewed it quite remarkable.

She then told Isaac she enjoyed reading. Isaac himself preferred more physical hobbies such as horse riding or fencing, but he could understand enjoying reading and once in awhile Isaac did find a good book to sit down with and read. Plus when he was out at sea reading was one of the few forms of entertainment available. He listened as she finished speaking, also telling Isaac that she was afraid of horses. This surprised Isaac a little, since she was from a farm. She laughed slightly and turned towards Isaac.

Isaac returned the glance and began speaking. ”I will have to show you my library then when we arrive. It is not the biggest one I’ve seen, but I’m sure there will be something that you will enjoy. As for the horses, I will admit I am quite surprised. Did you not have them at your farm, or where you just afraid and avoided half of it?” Isaac smiled, although the entire notion did seem rather odd to him.

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella nodded slightly when he said they could worry about her lack of money later, smiling slightly again. She wondered what his plan was, perhaps getting her a job? She could handle that, for a while... but too long, and it would not be good.

When he spoke again, she grinned at the prospect of an actual library. She had heard of them, of course, but had never set foot inside one. The idea that there would be a room full of books was simply overwhelming. "That is wonderful! We barely had a couple books, I can't imagine a library full."

She forced a blush to her cheeks at the comment about the horses, a soft giggle escaping her lips as he asked if she avoided half the farm. "Yes, pretty much. My father was kind enough not to make me learn how to ride, even though he wished for me to do so." Easier and easier to lie... "And we only had a small stable, with two horses. So I didnt have to avoid half the farm." She grinned and stuck her tongue out a bit, and then laughed softly again.

[Isaac Thorburn]

Isaac smiled at the obvious excitement of Isabella at the prospect of visiting a library. It appeared they did not have one, which was common among the more common class of people. Isaac was happy to bring someone such excitement, and would be sure to give Isabella a tour of his study. At the comment on the horses she blushed, informing Isaac that they had only a few horses and she avoided them, much to the slight annoyance of her father. She laughed and Isaac joined in, chuckling slightly.

In the distance the tops of tallest buildings in the city began rising up from the trees. They were nearing the city, and now a few people could be found milling about or performing some job. There was a fisherman at work on one of the docks who waved at Isaac. Isaac returned the gesture and motioned for Isabella to stop for a moment. Isaac walked up to the fisherman, and upon inquiry and some negotiating, bought two large trout’s. They looked healthy and fat and Isaac made sure to pay a bit over the price for them. He walked back towards Isabella and smiled, lifting up the small bag he was carrying, ”Hope you like fish for dinner.”

They continued walking while the town grew nearer and nearer, with civilization more evident by the minute in the form of houses and constructions. As they walked towards the city Isaac glanced over towards Isabella and spoke, ”So is this the first time in the city or have you been here before?”

Note: I just realized this has gone on a course away from the beach, (hope you don't mind, but feel free to say something), but I think I'll just keep the thread on this board.

[Isabella Cole]

Isabella was happy when Isaac joined in her laugh, glad he seemed to understand what she meant by avoiding the horses on her farm. She still felt uncomfortable lying, but once again, she also knew that she could not tell the truth to this man. The way he had reacted earlier when she had spoken about pirates just proved this.

She looked forward, spotting the city up ahead. She was amazed at how.. nice... it looked. Very unlike Zanan. When he motioned for her to stop, she did, and watched as he walked over to a fisherman and purchased a pair of fish. She smiled slightly, she had always loved fish. When he came back, she nodded her head and spoke again. "Fish sounds great, Isaac."

She followed him as he began walking again, her gaze turning towards the city again. She, in her real life, had never been here before, and it was definitely quite a sight to take in. It was very neat and clean. She was not used to that. Sure, the ship she had stayed on was very organized, and her home on Zanan was as well, but the streets... well, that was a different matter.

She noticed Isaac look at her, and focused her attention on him. When he asked if she had been here before, she shook her head slightly. "No, I've never been here." She decided not to elaborate and make more things up, even though she was forming more lies in her head.

[Isaac Thorburn]

They continued walking towards the town at an even pace. Isaac was happy that the prospect of a fish dinner sounded nice to Isabella, he only hoped his assistant was there, Isaac was a terrible cook. They continued walking as Isabella explained that this was indeed her first time in the city. Isaac nodded, a little hope growing in his heart. If the weather stayed nice until that night, perhaps they could view the city. Isaac could give Isabella a tour and he wouldn’t worry about boring her to death!

Happy at the notion the two continued walking until they passed through one of the cities gates. Isaac nodded at the guards as they passed who returned the gesture with the stone cold discipline they were trained to do. That was one think Isaac enjoyed about being a naval captain, they were more loose and less disciplined, sure his crew was organized and efficient, but they had good times and laughs all the same.

Isaac turned and began heading down one of the main streets bordering the coastline. On one side of the street was the water and on the other a row of houses and shops. It was here that Isaac’s house was located, and it was the said house that Isaac was now going towards. It was an average house, two stories with a cellar and an attic. It was nicer than the more common houses, but on the outside it was nothing fantastic. It was no secret that Isaac was relatively wealthy. His parents had given him a large fortune and since pirates are known for their looting, every ship captured by Isaac and his crew usually gives a large reward. However Isaac either spends the money on his ship or saves it, giving only a small portion of his revenue to his home.

Still the house was nice, with its sea blue walls contrasting with that of the sea. In front was a small yard, another rarity in the city that held a small tree and flowers. A stone path led through this up to the front door. The area was surrounded in a small wooden fence, although it was more for decoration then security. Although his reputation was less than what he usually believed it to be, Isaac and the Sea Sprite was still quite known, and he had enough reputation to deter most burglars and thief’s. Isaac opened the fence and walked up the stone path. Once Isabella entered he closed the fence and walked up to the door. He opened it and motioned for Isabella to step inside, ”After you.”