Forbidden love

Introductions

1163 words

        I open my eyes to see sunlight peeking through the window curtains. I stretch, the bed made my body stiff but it's better than sleeping on the hardwood floor of an abandoned house with only my dolls. My bones cracked and the bed creaked as I stood up. I got my bag off the ground next to the bed, taking its contents out and placing them on my bedside table. I really didn't have much packed, just some clothes, first aid, a couple books, a sewing kit, some dolls, some more dolls, and... more dolls. It's how I pass time, making dolls. Now that I look back, it was pretty stupid that I didn't think of selling them, that would have made things so much easier. I take the dolls Ms Ray made and place them gently on my bed, those ones I would never sell. I then grab my clothes, fold them neatly, and place them in one of the drawers across the room. They really took up no space, my three shirts and two pairs of pants. I wonder if the captain will provide me with clothes, I really hope he does, I'm in desperate need of some new clothes. I doubt it though, even if he did, from what I noticed there's only men on this ship, they probably wouldn't fit anyway.

Just as I finished organizing everything I hear a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I call.

The door opens to reveal the captain. I fix my posture, "Captain." I address him.

He folds his hands behind his back "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I forgot to properly introduce myself, I'm Jackson Veer, Captain Veer."

I nod. "Captain Veer." I test the name on my tongue.

"I'll introduce you to the crew, before then, I'd recommend you get properly dressed." He eyes my nightgown. "I'll wait outside." With that, he walks out and closes the door behind him.

I quickly change and open the door. "I'm ready."

The captain raises a brow at my outfit, it's just a dirty t-shirt and some worn out pants. I realized then that my outfit definitely isn't appropriate for a ship, everyone here has much cleaner and nicer clothes, they're also pretty fashionable.

He starts towards the end of the hallway, I follow behind him. He leads me down some stairs into what I assume to be the med bay.

"Do have any experience with first aid of any sort?" Captain Veer asks.

I shake my head. "I've tended to my own wounds, not very well though. Besides that, I don't know."

He nods and puts his hand out to a woman in a white coat. So I'm not the only woman. I mentally sigh in relief.

"This is Esmerelda, she's the ships medic." He folds his hand back behind him. "She'll have your wounds healed twice as quick as a normal medic would."

Esmeralda looks up form a book she was reading. "Oh my," she smiles and sets her book down, standing up and walking towards me. "It's so nice to have another woman on the ship, Esmeralda Honor." She puts a hand out for me to shake. I notice her odd accent.

I take her hand, and shake it gently. "Nice to meet you."

After an exchange of a few more words Veer puts a hand on my shoulder, grabbing my attention. "It's time we meet the rest of the crew, you two can converse later."

He leads me back up the stairs and onto the deck where I see most of the crew talking or carrying crates around.

We pass by many people. "That's James, Charles, Bart, Kidd..." he continues.

I puff my cheeks out. I've got a lot to remember.

When the introductions were over I ran over all the people I could remember: Esmerelda the medic, Horace the cook, Ace the sailing master, Alister and Finley the carpenter brothers, Alec the gunner, Steve the uh... just Steve, and Sebastian Stanton the quartermaster. I don't know why but something about Mr. Stanton feels off. While we were being properly introduced he kept glaring at me and was very cold with his greeting, it was unnerving.

I kept going over everybody's names and jobs to be sure I don't forget them as I headed towards the galley for dinner.

I waited in line for my food, when it was my turn Horace seemed to recognize me. "Ah, Zara. Yous new here, y'know I heard you tried stealing foods from my kitchen." He grabs a bowl and pours some soup into it.

My eyes widen. "Oh, yeah I did, I'm sorry."

"Don't you worry, if you ever in need of food just come and ask, I've gots lots of extra foods." He hands me my bowl.

The worry on my face quickly leaves and is replaced with a grin. "Thank you, Horace." I walk out of the line and head to an empty bench. I'd like to sit with some of the crew but they all seem so scary.

"Hello again." I hear a familiar voice say. When I look in the direction of the voice I see it's Esmeralda.

"Hello." I give her a smile.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all."

She sits across from me, placing her bowl down in front of her, the hot steam from the bowl blurring her face.

"So, how'd you become a part of the crew so fast? What's your secret?" She leans in.

I look at her with confusion. "I don't have a secret, is it not normal to be let in so quickly?"

She shakes her head and dips her spoon in her soup, stirring it around a bit. "Not really, not unless you have something to give or experience in subjects the Captain needs on the ship and from what I've heard, you don't really have anything to offer, no offense." She fills the spoon with the soup and brings it to her mouth.

I think for a moment. "I don't know why, maybe he pity's me, I did tell him I'm an orphan." I shrug and bring my own spoon to my mouth.

She hums in response. "Ah, that makes sense, he is very compassionate. Anyway, tell me about yourself."

I tell her everything that's happened to me since I washed up on the shore and she told me about herself. She's actually from Europe and snuck to the Caribbean to study science and first aid since they don't allow it back in England. That explains her accent.

After dinner we head back to our quarters. Once I get back in my nightgown I flop on the bed and pull the covers over me. I hold one of Ms Rays dolls close to my chest. The straw brushes against my neck making it itch but I decide to ignore it.

I hope they're doing well. Was my last thought before sleep took over my body.