You all know the routine: most of these characters are not mine. However, you people know which characters belong to Disney and which do not, so I feel it unnecessary to go through all he names of my own characters. Yada yada yada, Disney please don't sue me, yada yada. There ya go. *grins*
CHAPTER ONE: ON A SHIP TO AMERICA
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"Anchors aweigh!" the first mate of the Henry VIII called as the small ship made ready to leave port from Liverpool.
I stood with both my hands on the railing, looking back at my home as we slowly drew farther away. Once the port was out of sight, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
Turning around, I met the soft brown eyes of a young sailor. He was tall, with wavy brown hair, and he looked around my age, sixteen.
"'Scuse me, miss, but you'd best get ta your cabin," he said in a thick Irish accent.
"I suppose..." I replied distantly.
"Are ye a steerage passenger, miss? Or do ya have a cabin?"
"I...I have a cabin," I answered.
Nodding, he said, "You look ill, miss. Care me to walk ya to your cabin?"
"Oh, uh, please," I accepetd, a bit surprised. Taking his outstretched arm, I said, "Thank you. I'm afraid that I am unwell."
"Seasick, miss?"
"No, but I fear that I may be shortly," I answered.
"Ah," he nodded as we reached my cabin door. "My name's Skittery."
"Hanna Setton. It's a pleasure, Skittery," I greeted him with as much of a smile as I could muster.
He took my hand and kissed it. "'Twas grand, Hannah. Might we speak again?"
Blushing, I nodded. He grinned and kissed my hand again. "Have a lovely evenin'."
"You also," I replied, stepping into my small cabin and shutting the door behind me.
I sat down on the small bunk in my cramped cabin and thought over the events that had brought me here. I was happy to be going to America. After all, I could find my brothers, David and Aaron, whom I hadn't seen in years.
My father had been drinking away my family's money for as long as I could remember. I had been saving my own money to go to America for seven years, and now I was finally going to make a new life for myself. When David and Aaron had immigrated, they hadn't enough money to take me along. Now, I was finally living out my biggest dream, travelling to America on the immigrant ship Henry VIII.
Still thinking on these things, I lay down on the hard bunk and soon fell into a light and fitful sleep.
I awoke the next morning to nausea and the gentle rocking of the ship. Covering my mouth with my hand, I ran out of my cabin and down the steps to the main deck, where I leaned over the railing to be sick. Coughing hard, I hung over the rail for several minutes.
"Are you all right?"
I stood slowly to face Skittery. "Far from it, but thank you for asking," I groaned.
"Here, you need to sit down," he said, taking me arm and leading me toward a bench. I sat down slowly.
"I'll go get you a drink," Skittery said, walking off. He returned shortly with a cup of water.
"Thank you," I said, taking several sips as Skittery sat down beside me.
"Why are you called 'Skittery'?" I asked him.
"Me dad was a sailor hisself, so when I was old enough he brought me ta this very ship ta meet th' sailors. I was real shy an' skittish-like, an' th' sailors jus' started callin' me 'Skittery'. When we went ta New York an' I became a newsy, I told 'em ta call me Skittery, an' that's what everyone calls me. 'Course, after a while I got ta where I talked with their accent, so most of 'em don't know I'm Irish. It's better that way."
"Why?" I asked.
"New York accents sell more papes. The city folk don' like immigrants. They're all into that...nativism an' such like."
"That's not fair," I frowned. "When did you start sailing?"
"Only last year," Skittery said. "This'll be my third voyage, and maybe my last. Y'see, my dad had the consumption, an' they don' think he'll be with us much longer. When I get home, I'll be goin' to th' sanitoruim to visit 'im every day."
"That's awful, Skittery! I'm terribly sorry."
He forced a smile. "Och, lassie, I'll be fine. 'Tis you I'm worryin' about, travellin' to America all alone."
"Well...I have two older brothers somewhere in New York. I can find them," I said confidently.
"Och, you don' know how huge New York is! It might take ya years to find 'em in the city, and even longer than that to find 'em in the state," Skittery said.
"Oh...that does put me in a bind," I sighed.
"If ya don' mind me askin', Hannah...what happened ta your parents?"
"Oh, they're alive, but I just couldn't take any more of Father drinking away our money and Mother just sitting by and letting it happen," I answered. "I've been saving money for seven years to get this far."
Just then, a loud bell rang. Skittery jumped up. "It's my watch. I must be going. I'll talk with ya later, Hannah."
"Goodbye, Skittery," I called after him, easing myself up off the bench and climbing the stairs to my cabin. I was still nauseous, so I lay down on my bunk and fell asleep again.
