The Pirate and the Soldier Boy

Chapter 7

October was nearing its end. Carmen had been on the ship for more than a year, and had been hiding Samuel behind some crates in the hold for a good three months. After almost being discovered several times he decided to quiet down, which was definitely less nerve wracking, and probably helped her keep her sanity for a while longer. Samuel was starting to grow on her. Though she would never admit it to his face. And he was still annoying almost all the time.

Early in the morning she crept down to his hiding place, carrying what food she could, both liberated from the kitchen and bits she had saved from her small rations. Opening the rarely used door to an unused storage room Carmen could see her breath in the air and wished she had a blanket to give Samuel. And she thought the sailor's cabins were cold.

She placed the food on top of a barrel and walked around a stack of crates to a dark corner. It was normally illuminated by a porthole, but in the morning light almost nothing was visible outside, and the light barely illuminated a sleeping figure on the ground. She sat down and gently shook his shoulder. He rolled over and groaned slightly. "Carmen. Let me sleep. It's not even light outside."

She sat there for another minute without talking as he came to, debating whether to pour the contents of the bowl over his head, but decided against it as he woke. She held out the cold porridge and he took it thankfully. As he ate she studied him slightly. "You need a haircut Samuel. You can barely see with all that hair in front of your eyes."

He shrugged, but she stood to find a pair of scissors and a lantern. Half an hour later he had a slightly messy hair cut, shorter than when Carmen had first met him, and straight brown hair littered the floor. With his hair shorter she could finally see his face properly in the light of the lantern, though there was nothing she could do about the slowly growing facial hair he kept complaining about. He was quite handsome, actually, and if she ever managed to return him safely to shore she had no doubt that he would have many admirers among the girls there. He probably had before he joined the army and left land.

As she stood studying her work and making sure it wasn't uneven Samuel placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around. Unsure what he was doing, Carmen stiffened. He reached around her and took the scissors, and then lifted a lock of her hair. She jerked away. "No way. No way are you cutting my hair, Samuel."

He widened his blue eyes and pouted his lip, taking a step closer so she had to look up into his face. "You got to cut mine. Besides, isn't it a bit long?"

Carmen huffed and sat on a crate, untying her bandanna. Her hair was awfully long. She hadn't cut it since a few months before she had been captured, and not only was it almost waist length, the ends were split and ragged. "Just don't make it look bad."

"Whenever have I done something poorly?"

Carmen rolled her eyes in reply. All the time, was her immediate thought, but was cut off before she could make the scathing comment. "And don't call me Samuel." he continued. "Sam, or Sammy. Samuel is too formal."

"And we couldn't have that." Carmen responded sarcastically.

"Well, I have talked to you every day for more than three months. I feel formality was gone a long time ago. But that brings up another point. What do I call you?"

Carmen wanted to turn around and look at Sam incredulously. "Carmen."

"Nicknames, my dear rescuer."

She shook her head. "People have tried. You won't make it work either."

Carmen couldn't see his facial expression, but she could tell he was smiling. "I am determined to be the first."