Storm and Silence Fanfiction

Chapter 3: The New World

Lilly stood glaring at the wall. After Mr.Ambrose left, she had hunted down Karim and tried to interrogate him about the New World with no luck. It seemed that he was still traumatized from her threatening to take her clothes off back in the ghost town. Her head hurt just from thinking about it. Lilly grew increasingly annoyed and was just in an overall bad mood.

She fell back onto the bed and groaned as her back hit the mattress. She expected gravity to embrace her and gently let her sink down into the mattress. Instead, the stiff bed creaked and rejected her body.

A million thoughts ran through her head. Would the so called time traveling pocket watch actually work? What if it doesn't? Where was the New World? She had heard of it but she didn't know from where. What would they do in the New World? Would they time travel? Why were they even going there in the first place? If it wasn't for that silent, cold granite block she called her employer then she would've known all of this!

She lay sprawled on the bed, exhausted. She focused on how the waves rocked the ship as if they were in a crib. It was strangely calming and her frustration slowly ebbed away.

Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door. A middle-aged woman shouldered her way into the room and brought in a wave of an enticing smell. She was wearing a dirty apron and had her brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun. There were streaks of white in her hair, showing signs of aging. She carefully balanced a tray of streaming food. The steam rose to the ceiling and curled away, disappearing.

"Sorry, young man. I'm Mrs.Greene, the captain's wife and also the cook. I hope I didn't disturb you."

"Oh no, you didn't interrupt anything. I was just... thinking."

"Don't we all these days?" Mrs.Greene set down the tray on the table. "Careful, now. The food is hot." Lilly got up and sat down at the desk. The tray consisted of a small bowl of soup, a glass of water, and a slice of stale bread. "Sorry, it isn't much." She lowered her voice and leaned towards her. "Mr.Ambrose doesn't provide much."

Lilly gently blew on the soup and spooned some into her mouth. Warmth and savoriness flooded her mouth. The soup was hearty and creamy with small chunks of vegetables. It was much better than the grey mush she had at home.

"It's lovely, Mrs.Greene. Actually, it's quite spiffing! Thank you."

The woman laughed, the skin around her eyes crinkling. "Hah! Only if everyone was as kind and gentlemanly as you." Lilly smiled and decided that she liked Mrs.Greene. "I should get going now. Wouldn't want the other men to be kept waiting, eh? I've noticed that men are especially grumpy when they go without food. Anyways, when you're done eating, just leave it outside your door." She got up and closed the door behind her. 

Lilly finished eating and set the tray outside as she had been instructed. She quickly changed into a nightgown and turned off the lights. As she got into bed, the thoughts that had clouded her mind slowly started to disappear. Sleep overpowered her buzzing brain and let her drift off into the dark void of dreams. It had been a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Just throw in a dash of salt and stir!"Mrs.Greene yelled. Lilly found it hard to hear her over all the banging and smashing of pots and pans. "I'll be right there! I just need to go grab something!"

Lilly frantically looked around and located the bag of salt. She quickly tossed in a pinch and started to vigorously stir the soup. It had been a week since she had her first cooking lesson with Mrs.Greene. The ship was getting kind of lonely and figured the elder woman would like to have company. It had to get at least a little bit lonely for her to be cooped up in the tiny kitchen all day.