VI. Waterfalls and Reinvention
Logan awoke to the sounds of surf. For a minute, he wondered why he was so still. He always woke to gentle swaying but today it was different. Even though he could hear it, he wasn't on the water. And he had a pillow. Which meant…He opened his eyes and glanced over. There was a woman all right, but not one he didn't know a name to. Closing his eyes again, he let a slow groan escape him. Storm, island, Marie. Funny how soon he had forgotten.
Amazed that so much could happen in only two days, Logan flexed his toes and let out a lazy yawn. The roof he had thatched with palm leaves blocked out the light well, but the brightness that came from the entrance was blinding. Shifting a little to avoid it, he felt the bottle he had tucked into his side. Marie had drunk some last night. Smiling at the thought, he finally sat up and cracked his neck muscles. He didn't think it was possible, but the mats and blankets had been more comfortable than his usual hard bunk. Plus he didn't wake up to Bishop's snoring. The man could snore from the minute his head hit the pillow to the minute he opened his eyes. Wondering briefly if his old bunkmate was still alive, Logan flexed his hands and cleared his mind.
It would do no good to wonder about that now. He had to deal with his situation head on and for once he was responsible for more than just himself. Tracing over the healing scar across his left palm, where he slashed his hand out of carelessness, Logan wondered how long it would be. Without Marie noticing, he had been on the constant lookout over towards the horizon for white sails. They were doing okay for now, but Marie might get sick or worse, get hurt. And no matter how you sliced it, they were on an island with no way off. They were trapped.
He looked over at her sleeping form. She was on her back, with her hair fanned out perfectly around her and her hands crossed over her stomach. He quirked an eyebrow and briefly wondered if they taught sleeping gracefully at finishing schools. He had never seen someone sleep so perfectly straight. It just couldn't be natural. Resisting the urge to pull at the toes poking out from under the short tablecloth she was using as a blanket, Logan sighed to himself and walked out of the shelter to face the obnoxiously bright day. It was better if he kept his hands to himself and let her highness sleep. She sure wasn't used to sleeping on the ground and she would wake up complaining about backaches soon enough.
Taking a drink of the rum to rinse his mouth before spitting it out, Logan dropped the bottle in the sand and did a little survey work around the camp. Satisfied that nothing was touched, he went to fetch the clothes Marie left hanging on a tree to dry. Impressed that she could take it upon herself to actually wash, he turned to go back when he spotted them. His empty stomach tightened. Around the tree, not ten yards from the camp, were hoof tracks. He bent down and traced them with a finger. Two or three, one very large, just sort of trampling around, probably to get a good sniff at the clothes, that led out and back into the jungle. Tightening his grip on the clothes he held, Logan stood up from his haunches and headed back. The boar were obviously bolder than he thought, and although they stood away from the fire the first night, they wouldn't be afraid for long and that posed a very real threat.
Marie stretched languidly with a soft moan. Feeling the unfamiliar itchiness of Battenburg lace instead of satin over her body, she looked down with a start. Storm, island, Logan. It all came back in a rush and she stood with a hand over her eyes for a full minute before venturing another little stretch. And everything seemed to pull at once. Sighing in defeat, she decided to ease over to her side before experimentally trying to rise herself to a sitting position. Not quite oriented yet, she arched her back softly when she heard a chuckle not too far off. It was Logan. Laughing at her as usual. Not in the mood to deal with his rudeness, Marie threw him a withering look before yawning and stretching again.
"Morning highness."
Marie ignored the greeting and tried to stand. Letting out a groan, she managed to get to her feet before unsteadily walking out of the hut and slowly sitting down on the rum trunk. The day was unbelievably bright and she was still blinking painfully at the sun.
Logan looked up just as Marie curled herself into a fetal position on the flat leather surface of the trunk. It felt surprisingly good for her back. Deciding that he was not going to engage in an argument this early, Logan grinned to himself and resumed his work without commenting. Marie napped and lounged for another twenty minutes on the trunk before becoming lucid enough to realize that Logan was working on something. And he had shaven. The silver mirror was by the cask of saltwater.
"What are you doing?"
Logan paused from his furious scraping and held up a long wooden stick.
"Making a handle for the ax head to chop wood"
Marie sighed and rubbed her stomach. It was too early to really do anything and already Logan was all shirtless and sweaty.
"That's nice."
Logan looked at her expression. She was almost completely awake, but thankfully had not asked about the boar. Maybe she had forgotten, but it was definitely on his mind. He had set to work on the axe right away, shaping a handle with his knife and shreading the leather coat they had found into strips to lash it together, but he had no intensions of scaring her with what he had found.
"There's fruit left over there. You should eat."
Marie wrinkled her nose a little.
"I'm really not hungry."
"I'm heading out soon and I want you to come. We'll be gone for a while and you should eat."
That perked her up right away.
"Where are we going?"
Logan gave his final scrape with his knife and stood up. Testing it with a few swings in the air, he threw the ax into a tree trunk about ten feet away. Marie wondered where exactly he picked up all those little talents. She made a mental promise to ask later when he wasn't throwing sharp things.
"I need to scout the area, and we need water."
Marie sat up and finally looked ready to face the day. Despite the almost being mauled by a wild boar part, she had really enjoyed going into the tropical forest the day before. She flung the Jean trunk open and searched around for another slip she had seen. Running the comb through her hair quickly, she went to change. Surprised at her agreeable nature, Logan decided to take advantage and leave a little earlier than he had expected. Gathering the things they would need, he remembered something.
"Where are your slippers?"
Marie tied her skirt behind her back and stepped out from behind what she now considered her changing area.
"I left them drying off the shelter."
She went to fetch them and sat down in the sand to tie them on. Logan looked over and immediately dropped the tie he was gathering his hair into. He had to stop doing that. But it seemed like every time she stepped out from behind that area she had on less and less. He recalled the first time he told her to loose the dress. Told her he had seen it all. But then that wasn't exactly correct, because he had never seen someone quite like her. She was beautiful, and not just any kind of beautiful, but a unique kind. It was the skin, he realized. And the hair. Who had skin like that? Or streaks for that matter. Even with a few days of steady sun, it was still perfect and pale and soft. He remembered how soft her hands felt when she touched him in her room. Looking down at the remembrance of the argument that followed, Logan picked up the tie he had dropped and tried to remember what he was going to do with it. Without realizing it, Marie had gotten up and walked over to him. Picking it from his fingers she laughed.
"Need help with that Logan?"
He turned but she was already behind him. He froze completely when the hands he had just been thinking about threaded through his hair.
"Do you think we'll come across any more boar?"
Logan started to shake his head but her fingers at his jaw stilled him.
"Stay still."
She finished gathering his hair and tied the suede string with a knot and a bow. He turned and inadvertently glanced down at her bare shoulders. No sleeves this time, only straps. Marie stepped back quickly.
"No, but just in case, I'll be ready."
In an effort to instill confidence and occupy his thoughts with something other than creamy skin, Logan resheathed his knife into his back and walked over to the tree holding the ax and threaded it into his waistband at his side. Marie watched him with a smile.
"What about me?"
He huffed and handed her a sling he made with the pockets of the leather coat. It had some fruit left over from the day before. She crossed it over her chest wordlessly. She was dying of anticipation and Logan grinned at her before crossing the two sleeves he had cut over his own. Marie narrowed her eyes in curiosity.
"What are those for?"
Logan beamed at his quick thinking.
"They're for carrying water back."
Marie covered her giggle.
"They'll leak."
Logan dropped his grin and turned to walk away. He had the compass in his hand.
"If you want to stay, then stay."
Marie ran after him.
"I'm sure it'll work."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, falling into an easy rhythm in the remarkably clear forest floor. Logan was about to start whistling when Marie began to go through her extensive list of questions about the plants, sounds, and animals around them in between bites of fruit. When he grunted enough `I don't knows', Marie then abandoned her questions to start lecturing on what she did know. Logan walked on in amazement. Marie was apparently very well read and felt a need to share, but did he really need to know about plant digestion? She was halfway through a story about how she and Kitty once put Mrs. Witherstone's little dog to sleep by feeding him some herbs she read about when a noise caught Logan's interest. He stopped in his tracks and Marie walked right into him. Turning around he put a finger to her lips before she could ask.
"Listen."
"B-boar?"
Logan shook his head no and they looked at each other, trying hard to listen. And then a grin spread across Logan's face. Without giving Marie a chance to hear it too, Logan grabbed her hand and started running.
"Wait! Where are we going? Logan!!"
He kept going until they reached a clearing. Marie stumbled behind him and almost lost her balance on the moist ground when she skidded into his back again. The noise was now a grumble and they both stared at the beautiful creek that tumbled over a fifty foot ledge and formed a shallow pool before meandering into a lazy stream and winding back through the lush greenery. Her throat, suddenly reminded that it hadn't had water in almost two days, propelled Marie to drop her sling and jump in without any further thought.
"Marie! Wait!"
Logan cursed under his breath and dove in with a grin. Marie wasn't really a swimmer, but the pool was shallow enough on the edges for her to wade to were the water cascaded over the ledge. Splashing under the crystal clear spray, Marie squealed at the unexpected coolness of the water. Taking huge gulps from her cupped hands, she turned to find Logan cutting through the center of the pool.
"Logan, it's fresh water!"
Logan swung his arms in an easy stroke before emerging up to the ledge where she was standing precariously behind the falling wall of water. Marie squealed again in laughter as he picked her up and flung her into the pool. She landed in a loud splash below.
"My turn!"
Stepping up onto the rock ledge where Marie had been standing, Logan took a long drink with his mouth open under the spray before turning and flinging his arms into the air with a primal yell. Marie giggled at him as she struggled to keep wading in the cool waters. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Logan jumped off the ledge and landed with a huge splash at the center of the pool below. Almost drowning in the wave he created, Marie struggled to keep afloat while laughing her head off. Logan emerged from the water and shook his head to splash her with the water from his hair. Marie bobbed helplessly since she had practically stopped breathing in her fit of laughter.
Not wanting her to drown because of his monkey business, Logan pulled her to him in a gracious sweep. Marie giggled harder and clung to him for support. Without thinking, she wrapped her legs around his hips and swung her arms around his neck. Still grinning, Logan stopped moving when he suddenly felt her body brush against his. Opening the hand he had at her back to better support her weight, he stared straight at her laughing mouth. His whole body responded to her ringing laugh. Not able to resist the feel of her so close, he drew her in sharply. Her breasts were now flat against his chest, just slightly below the water, there noses just inches apart.
The sudden movement cut Marie's breath and her laughter died suddenly as she woke up to realization that she was flush against Logan's body. But she didn't move. Hypnotized by the dark eyes that bore into hers, Marie stared at him widely without taking a breath. Without removing her gaze from his, she noticed his jaw twitch in her peripheral vision. She wanted to get away, run actually, but the dark eyes held her in place. They were so dangerously close. Taking a sharp breath in, Marie blinked and pulled her arms back. Pressing her hands against his unmoving chest, she shoved him away with all her might. Logan let go immediately as shocked by her reaction as to the fact that he had nearly kissed her.
Moving slowly, he waded past her and heaved himself up on the rocks that bordered the pool. Marie stood stock still for another few moments. Eventually snapping out of her shock, she climbed out and wrung some of the water from her dress. She watched numbly as Logan got the sleeves he had dropped earlier and filled them with water.
"Let's get the water and go."
Marie nodded again, glad that there was something else to occupy her mind and her hands too for that matter. But his voice was low and gruff, and she knew very well that she had hurt his feelings. She wanted to apologize, tell him something, but she was still to disbelieving to make her mouth work. Collecting the slings, she sat in her wet slippers on a rock and chastised herself for being so weak. At first she was scared by his action, but then it had felt so good, so right. She had been a second away from kissing him. She touched her lips at the thought. What would her mother think? And Remy?
Suddenly remembering the night he promised to be faithful to her and love her always, Marie frowned. It was the night he proposed. Her father and Kitty had been so happy. She had made a good match and it was the last time they were all together. Her father left for the Americas three days later. Not wanting to look at Logan, Marie turned towards the waterfall again. It really was beautiful. The entire thing was protected and shielded by tall trees, giving it a soft glow. The flowers and vines surrounding the rocks and ledge smelled heavenly. The most well planned garden couldn't begin to compare. Looking down at her hands in time to catch a tear fall on one, Marie thought about her ring. Kitty said it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was in the garden that he had proposed. And careless as ever, she had lost it. Wiping her face, Marie brought her ring finger to her heart. Not two weeks away and she had already managed to break her vow of faithfulness in her desire.
Logan watched Marie out of the corner of his eye. She was pretty calm about things. Despite the fact that he had nearly forced himself on her, she had shocked him by reiterating the interest before jumping back. But then it was to be expected. He could see it clearly in how she twisted her ring finger. His heart ached at that. She had had a ring, and just because it wasn't there didn't mean she wasn't promised to someone else. Tying the tops of the sleeves, Logan swung them across his chest, fitted his weapons and stood up. He walked over to her slowly and watched her snap out of her thoughts and start wringing the water at the hem of her slip nervously.
"Are you ready?"
"Sure."
She didn't look up at him and that was not a good sign. Feeling worse by the minute, Logan started walking back from where they came silently. Marie followed him numbly, glad that the humid air would dry her dress at least. Occasionally Marie would stop and collect fruit, slowly filling the sling at her hip but the entire trip back was a stark contradiction to the trip there. They walked in complete silence the entire hour. The only sound was the sloshing of the water in the two sleeves and their steps on the ground below. Each was lost in their own thoughts, thoughts about guilt, need and a blue sapphire ring that rested at the bottom of a deep and unyielding ocean.
When the two emerged from the tropical forest, they breathed matching sighs of relief that they would at least not be tortured with only the sound of the other's breathing. Logan immediately emptied the sleeves into their spittoon. Covering it to avoid contamination, he glanced at the horizon and the position of the sun. It was midday and he had to catch dinner. Still not facing Marie, he grabbed the smoked meat he had preserved the day before and a few items he would need from the rum trunk. Remembering the half bottle he had left in the sand, he gathered it as well and headed off down the beach without a single word.
Marie watched Logan avoid her with growing trepidation. He was packing and leaving. Where was he going? And how long was he going for? She wanted to ask but she fought the urge. He was mad at her. And why wouldn't he be when she flung herself at him then pushed him away like a leper. So she watched him walk away towards where they had found the trunks. When his long strides turned the bend where she could no longer see, Marie gulped down her fear and wondered if her father would be proud of her now. The answer was disheartening.
What could she do? The years she spent learning how to play the piano to entertain company, how to embroider perfect handkerchiefs for gift giving, and how to speak French and Italian to better understand operas were a joke. What good were all those things when everyone else knew how to work and live with their own two hands. She looked at her hands again, turning them over in the sun. She would hold them to her mother's all the time when she was little, loving the way her mother's caramel skin and her pale one intermingled when she held them. Her mother didn't have use for any of the things Marie knew. She was a free spirit and when she was alive, life was very different. No gloves, no extraneous lessons of things she would never care for, no books balanced precariously over her head for entire mornings. The gardens were her home and she was so happy.
Marie looked over to the horizon. Logan looked at least once every half hour. He did it when he thought she wasn't looking. Probably hoping for a rescue to once and for all get rid of her. He called her majesty and highness since day one when she acted so badly towards him. He was probably used to women that never complained about their beds or their bathwater. Women that could do anything and not need to pay to have people do it for them. Fleeting thoughts of his hands on her back and his chest against hers made Marie shake her head and stand up. She needed to keep busy.
Looking around the camp, she decided to clean up, fold the sheets, and sort the rum and Jean trunks. Realizing they needed a curtain to keep the sun out in the morning, she fitted the hut with one as well. Then she had nothing to do, so she combed the beach for the smaller items Logan left behind. When she was done two hours later, she had a nice pile of firewood, a broken pair of eyeglasses and what looked like a bent spoon. Sorting the wood like she had seen Logan do the night before, she was about to start rubbing sticks together when she heard a strange cawing sound. Marie froze and wondered where Logan was. Not knowing what else to do with herself, she eventually ventured into the forest to track the sound. It didn't sound dangerous and there was no way she could resist her curiosity by sitting and doing nothing.
Logan walked towards camp in a slow pace, unsure if he was ready to face Marie again. He brought the empty rum bottle back in one hand and two cleaned and gutted fish in the other. He had thought and contemplated for hours and was not one step closer to knowing what to do about the Marie situation. Eventually the sun began to set so his time had run out. Rounding the last corners and nearing the last stretch of beach he was quick to notice that it was significantly clear. Still observing the difference, he approached the camp and began to wonder where Marie was. Dropping the fish in a leaf, he rinsed his hands and called out to her. Nothing. Sobering quickly, he checked the hut. Nothing. Withdrawing his knife, Logan looked towards the forest. There was only one other place.
"Marie! Marie!"
Logan alternated between running and walking for almost fifteen minutes before he heard an answer.
"Logan?"
He stopped to orient himself and wait for another call before heading off towards it.
"Logan, I'm here!"
He pushed through the remaining vegetation and stopped short at seeing Marie with a huge parrot on her shoulder. She grinned at his expression, and all conflict forgotten, Logan quirked his eyebrow and put his knife away.
"What the hell is that?"
Marie looked over her shoulder and feed the enormous red, green and yellow bird a seed.
"He's my parrot."
Logan snorted and then noticed the sleeves hanging off her shoulders.
"What were you doing?"
Marie fed the bird, who flapped his wings excitedly, and shrugged.
"Just went to get more water and some plants."
Logan stared at her for a minute. She was completely enthralled with the colorful bird, practically ignoring him. She didn't look mad at all. Finally realizing it was getting late and boars could sneak up on them, Logan took the sleeves off of her.
"Let's go, it's late."
To his complete surprise and slight annoyance, Marie walked past him and took the lead. He followed silently while she fussed with the bird and led them out of the forest through areas he didn't recognize. Getting to the camp, she placed him up on a perch he hadn't noticed before neither. Logan eyed her suspiciously. She was in a remarkably good mood.
"Where exactly did you get that thing?"
She smiled and started taking some plants out of her sling. He emptied the water into the spittoon.
"He was hurt, his wing was bent and I fixed it. See?"
She lifted one of his enormous wings. There was a stick tied with lace to it's wing. She pet it briefly and the thing cawed.
"It's loud."
"It's beautiful."
Logan huffed and started the fire.
"You've been busy."
She smiled as she started stripping the aloe.
"But you can't wander off like that."
"I was careful."
"That's not the point. You don't have a weapon."
He wrinkled his brow. He wasn't planning on saying anything, but she had shaken him up a bit.
"And last night the boars came to the beach."
Marie dropped what she was doing to her lap.
"When? Why didn't you tell me?"
Logan frowned.
"It was at night. I saw the prints, and I didn't want to scare you."
Marie thought for a minute before resuming her scraping of the aloe. Logan looked at the odd spikes.
"What is that?"
"It's aloe. It's for the skin, to not burn. All my favorite boutiques had products made with this."
He watched her scrape the gel and put it in a large shell. She was checking the horizon. It was her favorite part of the day. He was spearing the fish over the fire when he realized she was walking off, but he let her go without saying anything. She liked to be by the shore when it set and it had become a ritual of some sort. Watching her walk away, he thought about the situation. They had two weapons, an ax and a knife. She was going to have to get familiar with one or the other starting tomorrow.
Logan was tending the fire and debating whether or not to go after her when he heard her footsteps approaching. It had been dark for some time now and he had been worried. But really, what could happen to her sitting on a beach anyway? He was starting to scare himself. Who new responsibility could be so consuming? About to ask exactly what she thought she was doing, he stopped short when she dropped two petticoat bags she was carrying. She was slightly out of breath.
"What's that for?"
Marie walked over to the fresh water for a drink. She had a found a nice shell to use as a cup.
"It's to keep the boar away. Cracked and broken seashells. They have hoofed feet, so we lay down a line a few feet from the forest line, around the camp and they won't cross it because it's too sharp."
Logan looked at the girl take a delicate sip of her water. Pinky sticking out and everything.
"That's a good idea."
"I know."
He chortled and went to pick up the sacks of broken shells. He was dragging them towards the forest line when Marie grabbed a burning piece of wood as a torch and followed behind him. Together they had a protective barrier of seashells around the camp in no time. Marie had on a smile the whole time. She even teased him a little on the way back.
"Admit it, it was fabulously good idea."
Logan bent down to check on the fish. They are were done.
"Yes, it was an excellent idea."
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