Cimmerian Shade

Chapter 4

Ch. 4 “Voyage upon life’s sea; to yourself be true, and whatever your lot may be, paddle your own canoe” – Sarah Bolton

Once Alla set her mind towards doing something, there was no turning back. She’d decided tolearn how to work the sails on the ship; figuring that it would be a perfect solution to keeping her mind occupied and her sad thoughts suppressed. After a few days passed by, she finally convinced one man, Braggs, to give in to her request. The task was not an easy one.

Braggs was a beefy looking sailor, stout in appearance, with a jagged scar running from his eyebrow and ending at his cheek. His most avid feature was his mismatched eyes of blue and brown. Alla had been asking others on the crew if she could assist them, but they all continued telling her ‘no.’ They became so used to her persistence, that they would tell her ‘no’ before she even put the question to them.

One night she had by chance approached Braggs with her idea of helping them and he laughed outright in her face. He insisted that being a woman, she ought to turn herself around, go to her room and spend the day deciding what frock to wear the next day, as if she were a nitwit! When Braggs turned his back to her in dismissal and laughed with the others, Alla started climbing the mast; the same way she had studied the other men doing. Braggs cursed at her and called her all sorts of names to get her to come down. But she simply smiled at him and stayed where she was, until finally, he gave a short, curt nod, unbeknownst to the handful of sailors that witnessed her ascent. Though he was spitting mad when her feet touched the deck, she thought she saw a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. He flatly told her ‘no,’ again in front of the men, who then laughed at her seeming gullibility, and when they dispersed he quickly took her aside.

Braggs told her that he would only teach her how things worked with a few exceptions. First, she was to stick close to only him during the night hours. No other soul, outside of the one sailor already present, was to find out that she was being taught anything. Secondly, if by a slim chance she was injured, she was to refrain from mentioning their names. The final exception stipulated that she was to remain out of sight of the other passengersat all times. Despite any of her objections, under no circumstances would she be allowed to work the sails with the other men. “I’m only teachin’ ye’ how things work, mind. No more, and no less. I’ll not yield on this. Yer’ feet must remain on deck,” Braggs sternly reiterated.

Although she had a fear of the darkness, Alla found that when she was around others, and there was an oil lamp nearby, it was bearable. Because she found a way to keep herself busy, her outlook became much more positive. Braggs had given her a pair of trousers, a shirt and a cap to use during the nights, which she kept hidden in her bedside table. If a person were to walk by Alla at night, they would think she was another man on the crew. They would think her a small one, but a man nonetheless. For no woman, either a lady or a servant; would ever don a man’s clothing.

Braggs held true to his word, teaching Alla how to tie knots in the ropes, and how to set the sails. At one point, he had hold of her hands and happened to turn them over. He didn’t say a word when he saw the blisters. Alla quickly slid her hands out of his, and waited for him to demand answers, but he continued instructing her as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Surprise etched her features and she wondered what he was thinking, but if he was suspicious about anything he never let on to it. In fact, it seemed as if he were more tolerant of her presence.

It didn’t take long for Alla to learn why his name was Braggs. It was evident enough when he was teaching her how to complete certain tasks about the ship. After he had showed her what to do, he would make her do it, all the while relating stories of his triumphs. He had apparently saved the ship from sinking several times, saved five crew members from drowning all at once, and single handedly fought off many pirates.