My Lady and Saviour (gxg)

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

It was a bright June morning, and the waters were twinkling with light reflected from the heavens. Natalia and her family - her parents, and older brother were making their way from the English harbour to the Caribbean. Her father had purchased a pepper plantation there a few months prior to this trip and so the family was moving. While the rest of her family dreaded leaving their old lives behind, Natalia welcomed this new chapter in her life.

Maybe it was the way her hair felt as the wind blew, or the never-ending seas in the background, but she felt free. Even though she had her hair neatly done and dressed appropriately for a young Gibson woman. She wore a neat white frilly dress and her matching white frill umbrella to withstand the intense heat.

"Darling, please, don't stand too close to the edge and smile like that. How can you even be excited to go live in such a hot place?" Her mother chided as she fanned herself on the lounge chair on deck.

Natalia rolled her eyes, but of course, smiled properly back to her mother and stepped away from the ledge. She was always being scolded for something.

For running in the field. For having her long, luscious black hair down. Honestly, for having fun in general. It was always about propriety with Mother. Looking like an ideal little doll, especially for marriage prospects.

Natalia had just turned 20 and had declined every man who tried to court her. It's not that she didn't like men or anything, but she had a hard time tolerating them. They always wanted to squash her hopes and dreams and demanded that she be an obedient housewife. She wanted way more in life but she didn't know how to achieve it.

Her brother, Johnathan, on the other hand had all the freedom in the world, simply because he was a man. He was 23 and my parents had no rush in marrying him off, knowing well that his future wife would be living in our house, hence, taking up space and resources. However, they wanted to get rid of me so I can have a "secure future."

Natalia sighed and laid down on a lounge chair. She loved the sun on her face, as shown by her splash of freckles. No one in her family had them but she loved going outside and getting lost in nature.

Natalia was an enticing young woman with raven black hair and crystal blue eyes. She was of average height and a slim but curvy stature. She had a natural voluptuous figure but not too much as she had a small frame. Her mother took pride in her figure since she didn't have to spend extra money on better corsets, but it made her uncomfortable. Men were always gawking at her and she wished she could just be a cat and run away.

"Natalia dear, will you join us for lunch this afternoon?" Her father politely asked as he read his paper. Her father was a decent man, he never raised his hand at her but he did have conservative expectations. To find a nice (and rich) husband and settle down. As time went on, she knew the pressure was building and she had less time to find a way out.

"Of course, Papa." It's not like she had anywhere else to go. It was his way of asking, is there a young man here on the ship that has taken the attention of my daughter, and the answer was no.

Natalia laid there in the sun for a while longer, pretending as if she was far away, with not a worldly care. Maybe in a beautiful field with no one else around her. No duties and expectations. Truly free.

This little daydream was cut short as a bustle of people came through and chattered on deck. With that, Natalia sighed, excused herself, and made her way to her room.

She asked for a private room and her parents thankfully let her have one. She didn't want to hear her brother snoring all night.

Natalia had a few hours before lunch and decided she wanted to read. She lifted her mattress off the cot and took out her book - one with an anonymous black cover.

It wasn't just any book one that spun a beautiful story of Sapphic love. She was in a bookstore a couple of months ago looking for a book, when she came across a beautiful bookkeeper with lovely short hair. There was something about her that drew Natalia in, and they developed a special sort of friendship. Natalia couldn't describe it into words in the beginning but she was old enough to know what desire felt like. And it scared her, because she felt it for another woman.

The months went by and their connection grew. The bookkeeper, Evelyn, would make excuses to lightly touch Natalia whenever she could - as she walked around the bookstore, went to pick a book or even sat across from her. It wasn't long before they became lovers.

Evelyn ignited a passion in her that she didn't know was possible because she never felt it with men. Sadly, this forbidden affair came to end when her father announced they were moving. As a departing present, Evelyn gave Natalia a Sapphic book - to remind her that their love wasn't unnatural or foreign. That it's possible for two women to love each other.

Natalia brushed her fingers over the cover and tears rolled down her cheek. She missed her like the stars miss the moon during the day. Evelyn was her first love. Her safe haven. She made her believe that a life of their hopes and dreams was possible, even if society turned their noses against them.

Natalia missed her kisses. Both the private, passionate ones and the stolen, hidden ones in the forest near her house.

She breathed and started to read the book. She couldn't read it in front of her parents and books like these were hard to find, illegal in some areas even.

Natalia lost track of time until she heard a knock on the door. She jumped and hurriedly hid the book under her covers. She felt like a pubescent boy hiding things.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Jonathan. Mother and Father want us for lunch."

"Be just a minute. I'll find you all in the dining area. I just have to freshen up."

Natalia sighed and got up to prepare for lunch. She had to fix her hair, clothes and put on some perfume. She had to look decent for possible suitors, but in a way, she liked dressing up too. Sometimes she imagined she was dressing up for Evelyn, and it made it all the less miserable.

Natalia took one last look at herself in the mirror before departing. Little did she know, this was the last time she'd be reading that book before chaos ensued that night.