Elemental Rain Part 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

If he thought she was going to wear this, he had another thing coming! How on earth did he expect her to hide all her hair under that little wig? And the outfit! Where did he find it, Sailors R’ Us?

Before she made it close to the door, she heard a knock, and then it flung open as Jake stormed in.

“Don’t you knock?

“I knocked. I see you’re not ready yet. I don’t care what issues you have with the outfit. There are spies all over this damn town lookin’ for you. They’re lookin’ for your dark hair and Victorian-style clothin’. This drastic change might not be comfortable or desirable for you, but it will keep you safe a little longer than you wanderin’ out of here dressed like that.”

Well that stole her thunder, leaving her speechless.

“We don’t have all day, Lily. I need to get you out of here, so you need to get dressed now. We’re leavin’ in 10 minutes, so be ready. If you aren’t, I’m pickin’ you up and carryin’ you out as is,” and then he stormed out, pulling the door shut behind him.

As infuriating as he was, he was right. She dressed as quickly as possible, after she took a shower. She needed to clean up after last night, but she also needed to wet her hair, so it would fit under the small wig easier.

Twenty minutes after Jake stormed out of the room, all three of them left Millie’s and headed for the wharf, where they would meet the makeshift army Jake had at his disposal. They headed for the Green Dragon.

As they walked, Lily asked him the one question he didn’t want to answer, “What happened to you, Jake, after you left the States?”

He exhaled a deep breath before answering, “Well, my father came over and fought to get me released. It didn’t work as we had hoped. I was forced to serve the term, but two years later, I was released. I was never sure why, but I had heard rumors that someone had argued quite well in my defense, but I have no idea who it was. They didn’t want me to know who they were.”

“So why didn’t you come back then?”

“Ah, Lily. Those two years were hard. I was so messed up by the time I got out, that I needed to purge the demons before I could even think about you. By the time I was ready to face what I had done, too much time had passed. Plus, I heard that you were getting’ married, so I stayed away.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Your mother.”

“When did you talk to my mother?”

“I didn’t. I wrote you a letter and she responded.”

Without warning, Lily stopped in her tracks and began pacing back and forth across the alley they were walking in, muffled screams of anger escaping from her. Finally, she stopped directly in front of Jake, and looked in his eyes as she spoke, “I want to kill her. I never saw your letter and I never told her to respond! What did she say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Jake said, looking away from Lily.

“Yes, it does, Jake. Please, tell me what she said!”

Tipping his head back, taking a deep breath and looking up to the sky as if in prayer before leveling his head again, he spoke, “She told me that you had put everythin’ behind you and that you found a nice man to marry. She also told me that you wanted nothin’ to do with me.”

As she looked at him, he could see the tears running down her cheeks. “I never told her any of that, and I sure hadn’t put anything behind me by then. It was next to impossible. Did she say who I was supposed to marry?”

“Yes.”

“What name did she give you?”

“She said his name was Blaine Delhomme and that he was rich and that you would be well taken care of.”

“Blaine? She told you I was marrying Blaine?”

“Yes, she did.”

Shaking her head, Lily turned away from him then and went to pound on the nearest wall, forgetting their situation and screamed.

Jake walked over to her then, stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her. “What is it, darlin’? What’s upset you so much? What haven’t you told me?”

She turned to him then and cried. Even though they were pressed for time, he stood there held her tight, and let her get it out. He knew that if nothing else, this was a long time coming.

After a short time, she pulled away from him, wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt, and finally answered him, “I was never going to marry Blaine. I even told him and my parents that.”

“Ok, but what aren’t you tellin’ me?”

She exhaled to steady herself, “I’ll tell you, but I need to ask you some questions first.”

“Ok. What?”

“When did you send me the letter?”

“I sent it in March about five years ago.”

“When did she send you her reply letter?”

“Does it really matter?”

“It might. Please, I need to know.”

“Let’s see, it was durin’ May I received it that same year. It had to be May because she made references to you bein’ a June bride and it wasn’t June yet.”

“I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around how cruel she really is. She knew the truth and she lied to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“She knew when she wrote you that letter that I was in love with you, because I still trusted her as my mother, and told her as much. She must have known that you would return if you ever knew and she did whatever she had to, to keep us apart. She must have known all along about what I was and that you were my protector! But why would she ask you to stay with us if she knew about our connection?”

“It makes sense. Keep friends close, but your enemies closer. It was a smart move. It gave them an edge to know what my schedule was supposed to be, but their plan backfired on them. That’s why we can’t dawdle here any longer, Lily. They’ve got to be pretty angry and out for blood. So we need to put all this aside, for now. We can come back to it later if you need to, I promise. For now, we need to go.”

“Ok, I’m ready,” she said as she turned and began walking down the alley again.

“Um, darlin’,” he called.

“What,” she asked as she stopped and looked at him over her shoulder.

“You’re goin’ the wrong way.”

Looking down at her feet as she turned towards him so that he couldn’t see her turn ten shades of red she replied, “Oh.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence and luck was on their side because the trip was uneventful.

But maybe it was just Millie.

********

The wharf was clean and beautiful. Piers that snaked out to schooners of different sizes and other types of merchant ships lined the blue water’s shore. The sun was setting, the clouds dispersing the rays into all sorts of different colors. Amethyst stretched across sky, turning day into night.

The Green Dragon was aptly named. A huge, green dragon’s head adorned the front of the building, the entrance a big green, scaly mouth. Patrons walked through the dragon’s mouth on its tongue, down it’s throat, and down into the belly of the beast to the party. It was adorned in all sorts of treasure one could imagine being in a dragon’s treasure trove.

The smell of roasting and smoking meats as well as clove, citrus and molasses from craft beer pervaded the air, evoking growls from stomachs of the patrons, including the owner and his guests.

“Hey Jake!”

“Hey Clancy,” Jake replied to the bartender, “I need three dinner platters delivered to my table, please.”

“Sure, boss. What kind?”

“One of each.”

“Yes sir,” Clancy replied, going to the computer to input the order.

“And make it quick, please. We’re pressed for time.”

“Way ahead of you there, sir, I put a rush order on it.”

“Thanks Clancy!”

Jake led them to a table in an alcove that was separate from the rest of the patrons.

“This is a neat place,” Lily said, admiring the surroundings, “do you always eat in rooms like this?”

“Usually, yes. People tend to get nervous when they know I’m in the place, so I try to keep as low a profile as possible.”

“Oh, like that guy calling you, ‘boss,’ helps you keep a low profile?”

Jake shrugged.

She just shook her head and smiled.

The bartender brought over three waters and a shaker glass filled with a dark liquid topped with tan foam.

“What can I get you two ladies to drink?”

“I’ll just have some tea,” Millie replied.

“Hot or iced?”

“Iced, please.”

“Ok, and for you,” he asked, looking at Lily.

“I’ll stick with the water for now.”

“Very good,” Clancy nodded as he left the alcove to fetch Millie’s tea.

A few seconds later, he returned with Millie’s tea and about five minutes after that, a kitchen worker brought the three platters of roast meats, smoked meats and cheeses, a platter of grilled vegetables, another of baked potatoes wrapped in foil and a plate full of grilled Texas toast. They feasted in quiet enjoyment, nervous smiles telling each other more than they could ever say in words.

Millie merely watched the exchange, smiling to herself.

After the meal was over, Millie and Lily used the facilities while Jake settled the bill. The women returned to the table and sat waited, wondering when these friends of Jake’s would show.

Soon, there was some sort of commotion in the bar. A bunch of rowdy men in leather had arrived.

“Aye,” someone bellowed in thick Scottish, “where you be at, laddie? We’re here as requested, now be a good lad and show yerself!”

“Angus, you old sot! How are ya,” Lily heard Jake reply from across the room, just as boisterous.

“In better shape than you, I gather!”

“How do ya, figure that,” Jake asked, his Irish brogue becoming more pronounced.

“Well, I’m not the one makin’ the call now, am I?”

“Aye, true enough, true enough. How many will be showing?”

“Ya should know better than to ask that question, lad. All of us, of course!”

“That’s good. When can I expect the rest of them?”

“Within the next couple of hours, I should think. That fancy jet of yers sure helped matters along, me friend.”

“Glad for that, Angus. I appreciate this, I really do.”

“That’s what the Order’s for. We stand by each other.”

“I know, Angus, but this isn’t really for me. It’s for Lily.”

“Yes, but aren’t ye her Protector?”

“How in blazes would ya know that?”

“Lad, we recognize our own. Now that ye know what yer path is, I can start trainin’ ye properly. That’s the only reason we let you in the order, ye know. We all recognized the protective nature, even if ye didn’t. We just kept a few details until the time was right. Now, the time is right, but I’m not the one to be fillin’ ye in. That’s Athos’ job, not mine.”

“Athos? The musketeer?”

“Yes!”

“But he’s dead.”

“That’s what everyone was meant to think, but I suppose I should explain, so ye aren’t so confused.”

“What, Angus?”

“Protectors are immortal.”

“Immortal?”

“Yes. Just for the record, the phrase ‘all for one and one for all!’ originated with The Order.”

“The Order?”

“The Immortal Order of Protectors.”

“Bloody hell!”

“You’ll appreciate that status in battle,” a gruff voice bellowed.

“Porthos! Ye pirate! How ye be?”

“Ready for a fight, Angus!”