Adventures on the seven seas

[redblood]

"Please my lady, could you not change your mind? What if something happens?" An older woman in maid's clothing said as she watched worriedly when a young girl changed into commoner clothes.

"You must stop worrying so much, or else you'll get gray hair." The girl chuckled while she put up her blonde hair in a tail. "I'll be fine. I just want to go out for a little bit. I will be back before the sun goes down and father will never know." She promised and gave her maid a kiss on the cheek.

"This is not proper behavior for the kings only daughter." The maid told her, but then sighed and gave the young woman a small smile. "Just promise me to be careful. Don't speak with strangers. Walk away from suspicious people and.." The princess interrupted her by putting one finger on the maid's lips.

"I know, you've told me a thousand times, and probably would a thousand more if I don't get going soon." Funnily enough, it did not bother the princess at all that her servant was continuing to repeat the same couple of sentences over and over again. It was heart warming, knowing that she cared so much as to repeat herself. That old woman had been the closest to a mother she had ever had. Her mother was alive, but she hadn't been much of a mother to her.

With a last goodbye, the princess left her chamber maid and went down into the underground tunnels beneath the castle. "Be careful Victoria." She heard the echo of her maid's voice bouncing on the walls, even though it had only been a whisper. Victoria did not turn around however. She needed to look forward for her courage to hold up.

After some time walking forward, she finally got to the exit. The fresh air was appreciated after having walked around in a closed up tunnel. The tunnel had ended just a bit outside the town. While no one really knew why it had been built, most people suspected that it was because of the riots 300 years earlier. With so much paranoia for a new riot, which never came, they probably built it as an escape rout for the royal family. After such a slaughter fest it was to be expected.

Victoria started to walk, and it didn't take her long to reach the town. It seemed just as lively as she had imagined it to be. Children was playing around on the street, people were doing their work or chatting with their friends. Everyone seemed to be having fun that particular day. And why not? It was a sunny, beautiful day. A perfect day for fun. She fast noticed some street performers. They were playing music, they were dancing, they were doing magic tricks. It seemed like they had something for everyone to enjoy. Mesmerized, it took her a while to notice the guard that walked around. But when she did, she panicked. She couldn't be seen by the palace guards. What if they recognized her? Even in commoners clothing she still had the princess face. If any of the palace guards were out patrolling, then her father would know about her adventure and lock her in for the rest of her life.

She didn't run, but she did walk with quick steps, looking backwards much more than forward. Just when she couldn't see the guards anymore she ended up walking into someone and almost fell as a consequence, but somehow were able to regain her balance just in time. "I am awfully sorry. I forgot to watch were I was going." She apologized to the man she had bumped into before she had even looked up to see who it was.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Captain Edwin Leonard Adarian, or Leo for short, walked the streets of the harbor city. His blue eyes, shaded by a large hat, carefully watched the crowd. His sun kissed skin pulled back into a smile as he thought about the pleasant day. The weather was sunny and mild; a gentle breeze played with his curly black mane. Men and women quickly moved out of his way as he strode along. He was a large man, a good head above an average person and broad shoulders to match. A sword hung from his right side while a blunderbuss was stuffed into the left. He was sober and in a good mood for now, but he had certainly earned the title Lion of the Seas.

Damion, the first mate, decided to take advantage of Leo's pleasant mood. "We should find a cabin boy."

Leo's smile fell. He hated taking care of such matters. The last cabin boy they had died of scurvy shortly after setting sail. The ship still functioned, but an extra pair of hands would be useful. Damion O'Mally handled these things well. He wasn't impulsive or quick to anger like the captain. He kept a good captains log, counted and divided the loot, and always made sure Leo's extra hidden stash of spirits was well stocked. Damion was a thin man, with fire red hair, and, despite his time in the sun, he remained somewhat pale. It seemed he differed from his captain in every way, but the two worked beautifully together.

"Bah! Why spoil a nice day? We can find one tomorrow. How many orphans are here, looking for a way out of the work house?" Leo asked, patting his mate on the back.

"As you wish." Damion sighed.

"The men are enjoying themselves? Why don't you go off to ..." the captain paused, looking at the buildings around them. "Lady Luck's! Perfect place for you!"

"No, thank you, Captain. It's not my cup of tea." Damion said, his pale complexion turning slightly red.

It was hard to get Damion to have a little fun. Leo rubbed his eyes, thinking of how to get a few ales in his mate. He bumped into something small and soft and heard a gasp from Damion.

The smile returned to his face as he watched the young woman apologize. He could easily pick her up and move her out of his way. It was amusing just to watch her.

"Perhaps we should take her as a cabin boy; she's not bad looking." Leo joked. Damion watched his captain, expecting anger. He could only stutter in response to the jest.

"Run along, miss." Leo said, his bright eyes taking in her every feature.

 

[redblood]

Backing slightly she looked up at the man she had bumped into. Victoria wasn't more than a small stick compared to the giant with eyes blue as the ocean and raven black hair. There was a smaller man beside him whom the man spoke to. Though to be fair, most normal men was probably smaller than him.

The princess was slightly taken aback, not so much by his appearance, but by his words. Not only did he not speak to her, he did not even apologize himself. Wasn't it common sense when two people happened to wrong each other? Just because they were commoners did not mean they could act however they wished.

"Not bad looking?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief of the words and completely ignored his words latter words for her to leave. She was already breaking one of the rules her chamber maid had given her. Do not speak to strangers. But rules was meant to be broken, right? "Did your parents not teach you common sense? How about apologizing since neither you were watching where you were going. Or at the very least be enough of a gentleman not to speak of me in third person as if I weren't standing right in front of you and then expect me to just leave on demand."

Victoria put her arms over her chest and glared up at him, very much expecting an apology. She weren't angry, just slightly irritated. Even big, muscular guys had to learn some etiquette sometimes. He didn't seem scary enough for her to just pretend she didn't hear him, at least not when he smiled.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Leo raised his bushy dark eyebrows as she spoke back to him. A smile slowly crept back to his lips. Would feisty or foolish be a better word? He stepped forward, looming over her. He pulled back his red coat and placed his hands on his hips, his sword and gun now in plain view.

"Well excuse me, princess." Leo said sarcastically. Her fair complexion, which greatly contrasted his own, reminded him of a fine lady. Most common women knew their place when addressing a man, only well to do broads would look down their nose like that. His experience with fine ladies was that they tried to show off whenever possible, from the fabric of their panties to uncomfortable useless shoes. Judging by appearance, she wasn't royal, not even a rich merchant's wife.

"Perchance you could teach me some fine manners." He chuckled.

Damion fidgeted with his hands as he let his captain handle the matter. He was a polite and well spoken man, despite having spent years along side the short tempered Lion of the Sea. His reaction would have been to sincerely apologize and move along. Leo, of course, had to drag this affair out. Damion shared one thought; that that young woman was either feisty or foolish. The first mate simply kept his lips pressed tightly together, his eyebrows pushing closer together with worry. Leo couldn't get into too much trouble, at least until the young woman's husband or older brother showed up.

 

[redblood]

For a moment, Victoria actually believed that her secret had been reviled. But after some moments of thinking about it she realized he was nothing but sarcastic. It wasn't often she met people with such attitudes so even when it was obvious it sometimes took her some time to catch onto it.

Of course she noticed the gun and the sword immediately. It made her think about stepping back, but now he seemed to be challenging her. How cowardly would she be if she stepped down? Against her better judgement she refused to back away. He wouldn't hurt her, of that she was sure. After all, even a murderer would be careful not to be seen when they did such a horrific act, otherwise the guards would take them immediately. There were too many witnesses, and probably a guard around at least half of every corner in sight, it would be stupid of him to just shoot her.

After a few moments of silence, Victoria had built up enough courage to smile sweetly at him. "Perhaps I should." She told him. "If you have to resolve to scare tactics every time someone points out your rude behavior, then maybe you could gain from a lesson in mannerism." She could hear her heart pound quite hard as she tried to lecture the quite scary man in front of her. But the most important was to not show that she was afraid.

"By the way big bear, you are not as scary as you think." That line was completely taken from memory. During her childhood her uncle often came to visit. He was tall, scarred and muscular, and everyone was frightened of him for his appearance. He also tried to keep that image, but as a family member Victoria knew that he wasn't as scary as he seemed. She often made a point of reminding him that he weren't as scary as he tried to seem. He was just a big cuddly teddy bear. Of course that context completely disappeared now, but she did not believe that this stranger was truly scary, it was just that he appeared scary, just like her uncle. She could be wrong, and she might loose her head, but that option hadn't entered her head yet.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Leo scowled. He had never met such an obstinate woman. Mind you, most women he encountered were in brothels, where they were paid to say nice things. She would certainly never find a husband if she were this infuriating.

"If you're going to be my teacher, I should know your...credentials." He said, leaning forward a little. It was odd that she didn't find him frightening. He knew he couldn't hurt her as long as they were on land. He wouldn't touch her on his ship. He really didn't fight very often. Most men were intimidated by his size, some by his rage, and some by his skill of showing off with a sword. He wasn't sure what to do with her, other than throw (at least what he thought were) witty comments. "Did the queen herself teach you? Even if you were royal, I doubt a prince would want to get off his ass long enough to wrestle you, dear."

Damion groaned and turned away as he placed a hand over his eyes. The captain knew very little about women. His brain was geared towards battle plans, rallying men, cleaning guns, and anything else but women. He was a pig, really. Damion racked his brain for something that could change the situation. 'Just apologize and walk away' left the playing field a long time ago.

 

[redblood]

At first she became slightly more frightened of him, but as he kept on speaking she started to realize that he had no idea what to say anymore. Instead of scaring her he seemed to be making almost childish comments. It was almost funny. Not that he was trying to insult her, but that he actually were on the right track. While the queen herself hadn't taught her, the people that had taught the queen had also taught her. At least those whom had survived for that long.

"As if a prince ever would be good enough for me. Considering how often they leave the fighting to their knights I would be surprised if they could even raise a finger without help." Victoria stated cheekily. While she did make it sound rather harsh, she did believe part of what she was saying. So far no prince had ever been good enough for her. Most of the princes she had met had been quite boring and only cared about taking over their fathers throne. If all they thought about was to work with politics and paperwork for the rest of their life without having any other interests, then she weren't very interested. Sure she might just not have met the right prince charming yet, but considering her father wanted to marry her away in a few weeks time, she doubted she would find mister right anyway.

"And the correct term would be behind. I doubt the prince would want to get off his behind long enough. That's proper etiquette lesson number one. And do not use dear to a stranger. Use miss or lady." Victoria was starting to have fun with this stranger. She just wondered how long it would last before he would give up and walk away. She doubted he would bother with her for long.

 

[bluedragon1200]

"No man, let alone prince, would want you, lady!" Leo spat at her. He was beginning to get rather frustrated, though he tried not to show it. His eyes narrowed and his upper lip twitched as he tried to keep a straight face. The young woman bothered him and he wasn't sure why.

Damion gently grabbed Leo's arm, pulling him away from the heated discussion. The first mate's eyebrows were furrowed in thought. The young woman was dressed as a commoner, so why would she turn down a prince? The easy solution was that she was mad. Perhaps her family was able to take care of her, as she didn't show any signs of being an asylum escapee. The second option was that she wasn't crazy. Why would a noble lady want to be a commoner?

"Sir," he whispered. "You can't argue with a delusional girl, you'll never win. I believe we were going to..." his voice became softer "Luck's Ladies."

"Lady Lucks!" Leo bellowed. "Go on, I'll be there soon."

Damion's face matched his hair, a bright red. His voice cracked slightly with embarrassment as his mind raced for a solution. "B-b-but sir, you always know which are the best. If we stay here, we won't have time since we still need supplies and a cabin boy."

Leo let out a deep growl as he glared at the young woman, then looked back at Damion, then back at the woman, and finally back to Damion.

"If you're itching that bad, mate." He said reluctantly.

 

[redblood]

Oh if only he knew how wrong he was. Revealing her true identity might have been a fun way of teasing him now, but that might be dangerous, and on top of that he would probably not believe her if a palace guard didn't confirm it. And if that happen, well then she would be on her way home and have to face a furious king.

The two men started to whisper to each other, or rather it was the smaller man whispering to the other. The hot tempered one didn't care much to keep anything a secret though as he shouted it right out. But Victoria whom hadn't been in town before, except for the few instances when they passed it on their way out of or into the city, but usually she didn't look out of the carriage to see memories the names of streets and buildings. That lady luck's might have been something quite embarrassing though, as much as the little man blushed. Either that or he was just embarrassed over his friends behavior. She couldn't blame him for that.

"Well, you two seem to be in quite the hurry. I won't occupy your time anymore gentlemen. But try to mind your manners next time you bump into someone. Otherwise you will end up as hopelessly lonely as little poor me." Victoria told them before turning around. This had been quite an entertaining meeting, even though it had started out scary. They had given her an idea too.

Since long her father hadn't listened to her about what she thought of getting married, and now he was going to marry her away without her approval to a tyrannical man. Of course she hadn't thought about staying at home for long knowing that her future would be with a cruel man. No matter how good it was for the country she could not stay. But where could she go? They would surely find her no matter where she hid on land. But if she always moved somewhere where the guards couldn't reach, then she was good to go. A cabin boy huh. Ships were searching for those all the time. Maybe she had finally found her escape rout, and all thanks to a couple of strangers.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Damion sighed with relief as the captain decided to turn and walk away from the situation, heading for Lady Lucks. In no time at all the first mate was sitting on a bed, glass of favorite brandy in hand and a lady friend gently caressing his shoulders.

"I really don't do this sort of thing. I like to take a lady out for dinner a few times first." Damion said, giving a forced laugh. "My captain pushes me into it. Honestly, it's nice to talk to someone outside the crew. I'll pay you double for your time, of course."

"You go to whore houses and pay a woman double just to sip at brandy?" The woman asked. She stood from the bed and took the decanter of brandy, filling his glass with the amber liquid.

"Aye." Damion answered as he took a drink. "Then I carry my drunk captain back to the ship, where he sleeps it off half way through the next day. Tomorrow I get to find a cabin boy. Usually I have to find 5 more crew men, but it's been a pretty easy run. I'm not just first mate, I'm a babysitter for a full grown man."

The woman laughed at his comment. "Are you in the navy?"

"Nah, gave that up a long time ago. Piracy pays better. It would have taken me twice as long to be ranked half as high in the navy. Only the captain makes more than me and the quartermaster as much." Damion sighed.

The woman questioned him on his duties and life aboard the ship. She seemed genuinely interested. Most of the sailors she met probably weren't interested in talking about their careers. After a couple of glasses of brandy, he began to feel warm inside. And around this time a loud holler was heard from the hallway. Recognizing his captain's baritone voice raising cane through the halls, he stood, thanking the lady for her time. As promised he paid her double. As he opened the door, the captain stood there, wide grin on his face.

"Come on, O'Mally, let's go out." Leo said, with slurred words.

"Aye, aye, Captain." Damion said, not even pretending to be enthusiastic. He found the woman standing behind Leo, a look of shock on her face. He handed her a few gold coins. "For your trouble. How much did he drink this time?"

The woman paused in thought. "A bottle of rum and a couple of shots of strong whiskey."

"Ah." Damion nodded. "Another bottle of rum and he'll be out like candle for the whole night. Thank you, miss."

 

[redblood]

Victoria stayed in town for a while longer, but she did not speak to anyone else. Instead she had a joyful time listening to the street performers music. It was even more entertaining to watch the kids dance to the music and then seeing them pull their older sibling or parent into it. Most adults seemed almost embarrassed when someone tried to make them dance. Victoria would have loved to join them, but she couldn't draw any attention to herself, otherwise the guards might notice her.

First when the sky started to change color did the princess finally realize how late it had become. It would take her time to get back to the castle, it would be far too late if she waited any longer. Victoria had to force herself to turn around and go back. She did not want to go back, but she did not want to sleep outside either. It was just to go back home.

She reached the tunnels just as the sun had disappeared somewhere beyond the horizon. At that point it did not matter that it became dark outside. The tunnels were almost pitch black no matter how light or dark it was outside. Now she just had to get back inside without being noticed, change clothes and go to dinner, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Luckily her chambermaid was worriedly waiting for her on the other side of the secret door, making sure that no one would notice her absence nor see her coming back. Fast she helped the princess change clothes while telling her how late she was and how dangerous it could have been if the king or queen have wished to see her. "But they didn't, did they?" Victoria smiled, not the least annoyed by her chambermaids worried behavior.

The dinner was quiet. At least until her father brought up that the man she were to marry would be arriving the next day, which was a week earlier than she had expected. Apparently he felt it a waste of time to wait and wanted to come get her immediately. Victoria did not have a week to get away. She had less than a day if she wanted to escape the marriage. A big fight broke out between her and her father. She telling him how wrong the marriage was and how abusive he most likely would be to her. She had met him before. He despised her. He only wanted a woman that could carry his children. But her father wouldn't have it. In the end she was sent to her room.

"I can't stay here. I can't marry that man." She told her chambermaid. It was something they had spoken off many times. Now she had truly decided. She had to run away. Victoria told her maid that she would try her luck with work on the first ship that said yes. Of course her maid warned her that it was dangerous for women to set foot on any ship, if they would even be allowed aboard. That evening, Victoria's hair was cut short, and many tips was given to her for how to walk and seem to be a teenage boy. The maid also urged her to flee the ship after coming into a safe port in another country where she wasn't known. There she could try to live a normal life. Men's clothing was put forward on the bed and early the next morning, Victoria was gone.

Walking down the street in male's clothing she couldn't help but sometimes brush a hand through her hair. She had not had short hair since birth, it felt very strange. Neither had she been so dirty ever before. Her chambermaid had told her to scrub her clothes, skin and even hair with dirt. That would help her seem as if she belonged on the street and would take any job for any payment. While she of course didn't want the princess to be completely scammed, but if they believed they could pay her a few coins less and get more work done for it, then she might have a chance to get taken in immediately. This time around she did not have to worry about the guards though, except for her eyes she was too far from her normal self to be recognized if one didn't speak to her. Of course she would try to lower her voice, otherwise they would figure her out immediately.

Going into the port she started to look around. The guys from the other day was probably finished by now. They had been in such a hurry she would be surprised if they were still in that port. She just had to find one ship that needed help and make sure they believed she were a young guy that would work hard for next to nothing. Quite frankly as long as she got somewhere to sleep and something to eat she wouldn't complain. She just had to get out of that country.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Damion woke early in the morning to search for a cabin boy. He was joined by the quartermaster, Christopher. Christopher was a very quiet man. Conversations with him were always brief and his responses were mostly grunts or nods of the head. He had no qualms punishing the crew members and he was always fair when distributing the loot. He made Damion uncomfortable. Even his appearance was intimidating. His lips pulled down into permanent frown, his heavy brow was in a constant scowl over his dark brown eyes. His face was scarred and had deep pox marks. He was tall and broad, but not as much as Leo. He seemed like the kind of man who could kill someone without batting an eye. Damion never intended on testing this theory.

"A bit chilly this morning." Damion said, more to himself than the quartermaster. "I imagined it would be a little busier this morning."

Christopher grunted in response.

"I wish Leo would come for these things. He spends more time with cabin boy than we do. I'd like to hold off on the work house. Boys there are usually too thin. But if he kills over we don't have to pay him, right?" Damion said, receiving only a nod from his partner.

The red headed man crossed his arms as he muttered to himself. "If only he ran right up to us and made this quick. I'd take him to a bakery and buy him a donut."

 

[redblood]

Victoria was repeating the plan in her head over and over again. Her name was John Hawkins, her age was fourteen, and her parents had been dead for years and she had been living on the street for quite some time, living on any small job she could find. It was extremely important not to slip up on the lie she and her chambermaid had created.

Walking along the shore with her head down, only peeking up now and then, still a bit paranoid that someone might recognize her face, she suddenly saw a man she recognized. Wasn't that the man whose friend she had bumped into the other day? The man that had given her the idea of joining a ship. Sure that annoying guy would the there, but he was probably just a normal crew member so she could just avoid him. As long as she didn't talk to them much they would probably not realize it was her.

As she walked up closer to them, she did manage to hear the last bits and pieces of their conversation. The boys in the workhouse were too thin, and the big guy hoped someone could just run up to them. Well, their discussion seemed to have been a bit gruesome, considering the part 'if they die we don't have to pay them'. But she doubted it would be dangerous. People often said things they did not mean. It might have been a joke or something similar. Either way she had said she would try her luck with the first ship people she could find.

"Excuse me." Her voice still sounded a bit too high pitch to be a man's, but as long as they mistook her for a young teenage boy, they would probably not think anything of it. "I'm searching for job as a cabin boy, you don't happen to know any ship close by that needs one?"

 

[bluedragon1200]

"Aye," Damion said, a bit surprised that his wish had been granted so quickly. "We are. I'm Damion, first mate on The Rising Sun. This is our quartermaster, Christopher."

The brooding man only nodded in response.

"I thought I saw a bakery over there. Let me buy you a doughnut and we'll talk business." Damion said with a smile.

The red headed first mate was perhaps counting his blessings too soon. Some young men were looking to punish their parents by running away. Half way through the voyage they realized they were wrong and homesick (sometimes still seasick) and jumped ship at the nearest port. Some young men turned their nose up at piracy. It wasn't any worse than what the navy would do. Pirates were freelancers, if you will. The lines man drew on land did not apply to the sea.

 

[redblood]

Victoria almost sighed in relief when the man named Damion didn't recognize her. They had only met for a few minutes, so it was expected, but there were people out there with keen eyes for details and could recognize anyone even through disguises. Another surprise was that the man actually thought of buying her a doughnut, she had thought he just said that out of frustration and not meant it literally. He was a man of his word at least, that was quite admirable.

"You don't have to do that sir." She tried to assure him. It felt pretty strange to be offered food from a stranger. "I'm John, John Hawkins." She then introduced herself.

Hopefully they wouldn't expect her to have prior knowledge of that kind of work, otherwise her search would have to continue, and she did not have that much time to get out of port. After all, once they realized she no longer was inside the castle, her father would send out soldiers to search for any blonde haired person until they could find her. This might not be her only chance, but it was her best chance of escaping.

 

[bluedragon1200]

"Well, first things first." Damion said. "We're gentlemen of fortune. We're a small crew, about 50 men. You'll be expected to perform the duties of a cabin boy; attending to the captain, running errands, helping in the kitchen. Along with that, you'll learn to be a powder monkey; running supplies for the guns during battle. It's hard dangerous work and I can't take you aboard unless you understand that. Where are your parents?"

Damion kept his arms crossed. Without a cabin boy, it was usually up to him to run messages across the ship or help tidy up the captain. He had plenty of other things to worry about. At the same time, he hated enlisting a young boy. With a clean face and a unchanged voice, John couldn't be more than 13. He seemed like a good young man, the type who would save his earnings and give them all to his sick mother.

Christopher's expression didn't change as he examined the lad. Despite being a pirate, Damion was a good man; Christopher, on the other hand, had no qualms about taking any run off the street. If the little booger stole from crew members, he'd be whipped. If he cried because he missed his parents, he ought to grow up. Christopher and Damion didn't agree on many subjects, but they respected each other.

 

[redblood]

It didn't seem as if her work load would be more than she could handle. The only thing that worried her was the when he spoke of battles. Exactly why did they expect battles to break out? Well, there were quite a few pirates out on the sea, so maybe they made sure to always be prepared. Either way she would just have to hope nothing happened before she could get off the ship in a faraway shore. Victoria had no plans to abort her mission simply because of the possibility of danger. A battle might kill or wound her, but at the very least there was a possibility to get past the ocean safely. If she got married she would be a punching bag for her new husband for the rest of her life.

Then the question she had expected came. Of course they would ask for her parents. She did after all look far too young as a boy to leave home without permission. "My parents are dead sir. A fire took them a few years ago." She explained with lowered head, trying to seem slightly upset over the memory for a few moments. She did hope the man wouldn't feel like questioning her further on that matter that way.

"I do understand the dangers. Tell me what to do and I'll do the double sir, I'm ready for anything." Victoria looked up again, now seeming determined. Though her determination was for a different reason than they might think. She just had to get that job no matter what. The worst that could happen was that she couldn't handle it and they would throw her off in the next port. From there she could try new ways to get out of the country.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Damion chuckled at his enthusiasm. The young man would certainly be put to work. With a small crew, most men doubled in their duties. Leo like it that way. He knew all the crew members and trusted each of them. They grumbled about their duties, but quieted down when they were paid.

"What do you think, Christopher?" Damion asked the large blond man.

"A shilling a week and an equal portion of the crew's share, if he's a cabin boy and a powder monkey. If you want more work, you can apprentice but you'll get the same pay." Christopher growled. He voice was low, it almost sounded as the rumble of thunder rather than a man speaking.

"You won't find a better offer." Damion said. His arms were still crossed as he continued to look the boy over. The face seemed familiar, but he brushed it away. If you see enough faces, they all look familiar.

 

[redblood]

Victoria wasn't certain how much a shilling was worth. She had lived all her life in the castle with no need for money. All she wished to own, someone else had bought for her. That's why she didn't care to think about what they offered her. She wouldn't be able to know if it was a good deal or not either way. And she had no time to be picky either.

"I accept the offer." She said eagerly. Lucky. She would be out of the port in no time. She wasn't sure what would become more troublesome. Work for the first time in her life, or hide her gender until they reached a safe port. But if she just stayed quiet enough and tried not to draw attention to herself, then she should be fine.

"I do have a question though. How come the captain himself isn't choosing his new crew members?" She then asked. It was quite curious that the job had been left to the first mate and the quartermaster. Wasn't their captain the least interested in knowing who would be working for him? Or maybe he just trusted Damion enough to get the right people for him.

 

[bluedragon1200]

Damion sighed, carefully thinking about his words. The boy should know now the man he would be serving, but Damion didn't want to scare him off with all the gritty details. v

"Well, he's very busy." By busy Damion meant hungover. "And a cabin boy isn't a ranking officer. You'll meet him soon enough."

Last time Leo helped pick a cabin boy, he scared away ten and didn't take the other seven. It was almost a punishment for forcing him into work. The captain would look over the boy while scratching some stubble. He'd probably ask some unrelated question, such as 'why is the blue' or 'do mermaids exist.' Regardless of the answer he'd say "Well done, Damion. Have him see me at 6, until then, show him his duties."

"Christopher, I believe you were going to meet Buckley to go over supplies? I'm going to show John the ship." Damion said to his partner, then looked back to the boy. "We leave this afternoon at 3." he looked at his pocket watch. "It's 9 now. I'll give you time to collect your things."