Seabound

Chapter 5: Rough Seas

Ren's POV

I couldn't sleep that night, I curled up in the corner of my wooden cell and stared, dismayed, at the beautifully plain blue dress that Mister Shade had brought me. I couldn't bear to put it on, even looking at it brought a tidal wave of sadness crashing over me, sweeping me farther away from sanity, deeper into the depths of hysteria.
I'm loosing my mind. I reasoned, though I was uncertain of the worth of an insane person's reasoning. I'm sitting in some mental hospital have a mental breakdown. Mom and Dad are here, and Luke is laughing at me... And...
The tears began anew, I never knew I have such deep reserves, their flow seemingly endless. The sound of the men working outside dimmed in the evening, and now the only melody was that of the sea and wind against the ship. The Aestus, whatever that meant. Being left to ones own thoughts is a dangerous thing, especially when one finds oneself in a world completely different from what you knew to be true.
  I tried to make sense of what was happening, focusing on the facts.
I'm on a pirate ship. The crew saved my life for rescuing their First Mate.... Eli Davenport? Present location unknown, and present level of how-dead-am-I also unknown though definitely high.
Sighing I wiped my tears away.
Breath Renee, I thought to myself. One thing at a time, we'll get through this.
After taking a brief inventory I had one bed, one small desk accompanied by a small chair, a crooked nail, a lit oil lamp, and myself, sitting in a damp corner in a wet nightgown. First things first, I was going to catch a cold if I stayed in these soaking rags any longer. Crawling over to the bed, I shed the tattered clothes and donned the blue dress. Thankfully it wasn't very complicated, lacking a proper corset, so I was able to get it on without much of a struggle.
The fabric was thick and warm, hugging me like an old friend to comfort me on the worst day of my life. Draping the ruined white nightgown over the small chair by the lamp to dry, I then slunk back into the bed and wrapped myself in the blankets. I sat there, worrying, planning, fearing and wondering.
I'm going to get through this. Despite my reputation amongst my classmates for being an unrivalled bookworm, nerd, and an antisocial mute, my father had taught me self defence. I could fight, just enough to keep myself alive. Leaning my head back against the wall, I sighed deeply and planned my way into a deep sleep.
In the morning, I woke to a knocking at my door.
"Miss SinClaire?" I recognized Shade's voice beyond the door, sounding cheerful, his smile almost audible.  "May I come in?"
I jumped out of bed and quickly smoothed out the wrinkles of my new dress, determination brimming inside me. I can do this, I can play this game. If convincing these people that I was similar to them was anything remotely close to convincing my teachers that I actually enjoyed school, I'd succeed with flying colours. Opening my door, the pale haired man entered gingerly, watching my hands for a sign of the iron nail from before, which I had hidden well in the folds of my dress.
  "Good morning, I'm here to lead you to the Mess." His albino eyes twinkled in the rising sunlight, regaining his previous impish grin. "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, and yes I did thank you." I lied easily, smiling to the strange man. He was wearing a loose fitting navy shirt, but one of the sleeves had missing, the seam having been torn savagely. I guess I must have been staring rather obviously, because his eyes drifted down to his absent fabric and he sighed.

  "I wouldn't mind telling you how this happened," He said, his voice low and soft, "But it is not a tale to be told before breakfast." I was slightly alarmed at the abrupt seriousness in his tone, and decided not to push the subject.

  I followed Shade out into the belly of the ship, tracing his winding path through the haphazard cargo and ropes that cast haunting shadows across the wooden floor boards.  I ran through the plan over and over again, pouring over every detail until I knew it like the back of my hand. "

  "If you don't fancy the crowd in there, we can grab some rations from the Galley and scuttle on back to your quarters." He didn't turn back to face me, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "We're not exactly accustomed to having young miss's aboard who aren't some of the Cap'n's lady friends." By the emphasis in his voice I knew exactly what he meant.  "So some of the crew might be....what's the proper word? Blatant?" Crowd? Was the whole crew in there already? My stomach twisted into the old sailor knots that my grandfather used to show me, and disgust broiled inside me at the thought of being treated like a piece of meat. I steeled my nerves and took a deep breath, walking into the Mess as though I owned it, glaring down all the lecherous gazes that followed me as I walked over to a seat at the end if a long table. The room was large but dimly lit, the wooden walls tinted grey and lit by small oil lamps. Shade sat on the other side of the table and faced me with a grin, his red eyes nearly glowing.  He jumped into a dramatic retelling if the events that had brought me to their ship, describing it as though it were some ancient epic of heroic proportions, his hands flailing about as they flourished the tale. I leaned forwards on my elbows, chuckling at how he exaggerated, and was about to correct him and tell him that it wasn't that much of a big deal when his eyes darkened in warning. As though him talking was keeping something far more unpleasant at bay.
  I decided to trust this peculiar guy and kept my mouth shut, and focused on the story.