Under the brave black flag I fly

Posted on Tue 7th Aug, 2018 @ 9:19pm by Ignatius Collins
Edited on on Tue 27th Apr, 2021 @ 5:01am

433 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Captain's Cabin, Crimson Assurance
Timeline: MD5

"Think of it, Glory!" Pubert Addams enthused, waving his hand-rolled Cuban cigar, "Many a king on a first-class throne, if he wants to call his crown his own, must manage somehow to get through more dirty work than ever I do!"

Smiling fondly at her husband, Gloriana Addams said, "You're a poet, my dear. It's only natural that someone else does the dirty work, and you become king." She walked toward the table to refill his drink, idly stroking his arm as she passed. "You are meant for great things, mon chéri."

"Glory! You spoke French! You know what that does to me!" He started to rise, only to bump his chair against that of the third member of their party. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat, and resumed his seat. "Ignatius, old man, I know you miss your sweetheart, but soon! Good things come to those that grab them with their claws and hold on tightly!"

"Ye-e-ah. That worked well for my Cousin Barnabas," Ignatius muttered. Cousin Barnabas, he felt, was about as lucky in love as the legendary Severus Snape and almost as culpable, after a certain point. He cleared his throat. "Please, don't hold off on my account. You two are lovely together, and you should enjoy what privacy this ship affords."

Pubert's drink appeared in front of him, at the end of Gloriana's black-lace-covered arm. "Turn your back, then, you wicked man, and we'll pretend we have privacy," she said, before whispering into Pubert's ear, "Dommage qu'il soit réservé à Purulence."

One thing that Ignatius liked about the elder Addamses was that they were demonstrative with each other--far more so than the staid pecks on the cheek that were the extent of his own parents' displays of affection with each other in public. Edward and Margaret Collins might as well have been distant cousins or mild acquaintances, for all the romance they displayed outside of Collinwood, whereas Pubert and Gloriana were still, well, torridly in love, by all appearances, and they had been married for decades.

Admittedly, they were sometimes a little too torrid for Ignatius' tastes--like now--but still, that was more the way he wanted to be around Purulence. Really, time spent with his future parents-in-law was an education. He hadn't had this much education in the subject since boarding school and college.

He plucked Pubert's drink from Gloriana's outstretched hand and set it gently on the table. "Excusez-moi," he said with a mischievous look because, in some ways, he was a wicked man, and ducked out of the cabin.

 

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