Airship Stowaway

Changing

Joanna returned to her cabin, and had just stepped out of her robes when the door started to open. She realised with a start that she had forgotten to lock it. In a panic, she bent down and picked up her discarded robes, holding them to her chest, just as Monmouth entered.

“Jo, I just wanted to—“ He stopped short, staring at her. “Oh, I do beg your pardon. Should have knocked.”

“That’s all right, I should have locked the door.” She stood stock still, hoping he would leave quickly, but he just stood there, staring at her, with a strange look on his face.

She suddenly realised that his gaze was focused on her chest. She glanced down, and was mortified to see that in her rush to pick up the robes, she hadn’t covered herself completely.

Her breasts weren’t large, and when covered by a loose shirt, they weren’t noticeable, especially when she hunched her shoulders forward. But uncovered, they were very definitely and obviously breasts, despite being small. And her left breast was completely uncovered.

She quickly turned her back on him, rearranging the robe to cover herself completely, even though it felt like a useless gesture. She hoped, again, that he would leave, but when she glanced over her shoulder, he was still standing there. His breathing had grown loud in the confined space.

He took a step towards her. She turned her head away, and shrank from him, but there wasn’t much room to move in the little cabin. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder, his touch burning, making her skin crawl. She suppressed a whimper.

“So you’re not a boy after all.” His voice was low, and thick with emotion. “You’re a girl.” His hand moved slowly down her back. “A very pretty girl. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

He moved even closer, his breath hot on the skin of her back, and she pressed herself up against the cupboard door. His hand moved slowly down her back, ever lower, and she closed her eyes tightly, willing him to go away with every fibre of her being. Please, just make him stop. Make him go away!

Time seemed to stop. There was nothing in the world but his hand, his breath, and her almost physical revulsion of him.

A discreet cough caused Monmouth to quickly withdraw his hand. Her eyes flew open. Lawson was standing just inside the cabin door, eyes averted. Monmouth turned his back on her.

“What is it, Lawson?” His words were clipped, angry.

“It’s time, sir. For your… communication.”

Monmouth seemed to collect himself, straightening his cuffs, and throwing back his shoulders. He checked his watch. “Why yes, so it is. Thank you for reminding me.” He strode out of the cabin without a backward glance. Lawson withdrew silently, and closed the door.

Joanna slid her back down the cupboard door until she was sitting on the floor, and sobbed.

After what felt like a long immersion in a world of misery, she gradually became more aware of her surroundings. Her legs felt cramped and her back was cold. She got cautiously to her feet and finished dressing. Without really thinking about it she packed all of her meagre belongings into the bag that Lopsang had given her. When she noticed what she was doing, she realised that some instinctive part of her brain had decided to run away from Monmouth and the airship as soon as it landed, regardless of what happened between now and then. She saw no reason to contradict this plan. So she sat down on the bed, hugged her knees, and waited for the ship to land.