Masquerade

Prolouge

For those of you who have been waiting so patiently, here's the sequel to Elegant Disguise

~

1871

The ship sailed over the churning seas, and white foam was being sprayed over the deck and crew. I had stuck a pin in my trousers in case I needed it to keep my dark locks out of my face. My surprise, I needed it. I let go of the rope for a second, to knot my hair at the back of my head, just as the fierce wind howled and sent droplets of ice cold rain in my face.

"Are you all weaklings? We have to keep the sail up! Now pull!" I yelled, behind me, to the rest of the crew.  The rope holding our sail in place had snapped in this storm, so the rest of the crew, and, I were using our strength to try and hold it in place.

It was kind of ironic, because the rest of the crew were big, burly, strong men and I was a small, skinny, not-so-strong woman, I was the one who was trying my damnedest to keep the sail from going anywhere.

"I'm going to see the Captain and ask when we stop, because that needs to be repaired!" I said, over the howling of the wind and the roaring of the sea.

The men grunted as they used all their might to pull, as I started running across the slippery deck, to make it to the Captain's quarters. I slipped and fell on my backside, sliding to the right as the ship rocked in that direction. Once the ship righted itself, I was able to stand up and continue on my way.

"Captain!" I said, pushing the door open and barging in. Captain Mark was sitting at his small table and enjoying his evening meal. "One of the ropes holding the sail snapped, it takes every single one of us to keep it from rolling up, we have to dock and repair it."

Captain Mark chewed thoughtfully, he seemed to be mulling things over. He swirled his wine glass and then took a thoughtful sip before speaking.

"Mari, take the wheel and start steering East, we should be in the vicinity of London by morning," he told me, calmly. I nodded and turned around, pulling the door shut behind me, and then making my way to the ship's wheel.

"Get ready boys," I shouted over the rain, as I gave the wheel a tug and felt the ship turn left, "It's going to be a long night."

*

(Paulette's POV)

The ship rocked dangerously, objects moved from side to side, some threatening to fall while others did just that. Paulette Johnson lay in bed, in the quarters that she shared with Mariana Bensen. Paulette was laying in her bed, desperately trying not to get sick; but seasickness was a weakness that she had not outgrown.

Paulette often thought about her parents and her sister, back in Alabastor. Sometimes she would scoff, because she pictured her sister sitting around, alone now, with no one to boss around. But other times, she would smile, sadly, as she thought of them; of her parents. She wondered if they were wondering where she was and if she was ok, or if they were still caught up in Josephina's affairs.

Being on the ship was adventurous, in some ways and undescribable in others. Sailing around the world, going from place to place excited her, it enthralled Paulette to the point that she wanted more and more.

Since they had no money, they would steal, quite often. Before meeting Mari, Paulette had never stolen a thing in her life; since they've been sailing together, Paulette has stolen food, pricey trinkets and a couple of books for herself.

She also learned how to fend for herself, with the help of Morris, a member of the ship's crew. She and Morris had formed a sort of bond, and they had become close friends.