Mother
She was a lovely young woman, with long dark hair, and even darker eyes shining out from a well-shaped face. She was, to all she met, rather exotic looking with her not quite olive complexion, although she had been born and raised by a well to do English Father and Mother.
Her Father had been a Diplomat and as such she had been exposed to a variety of different cultures. Whether it had been the numerous moves from place to place interacting with all those different people, or something else in her nature, she had grown up with a way with people. Rarely not receiving what she set out to get. Once she set those eyes on someone and used those beguiling facial expressions it was hard, if not impossible, for anyone not to give into her.
She stood leaning against the ships rail, the wind blowing her long dark hair about her face. She knew she should be below deck, but the thought of that dank, dark space was not a welcoming one. The wind had been picking up most of the afternoon and ominous clouds had been building on the horizon almost as long. The Captain had set most of the crew to readying the ship for a storm and if those clouds were to be the judge it was going to be a bad one. She did not fear the sea, but did hold it with what she had always considered a healthy respect, and knew before long she would have to go below, not only for her own safety, but also for that of the unborn child she carried.
She had always been drawn to the sea. Almost all of the posts her father had occupied had been on a sea or ocean somewhere. She had, for as long as she could remember, found just standing and looking out over the vast stretch of water calmed her in a way nothing else was able, and enjoyed nothing more than sailing out on the same. Each time her father had been assigned to a new post she had prayed they would go by way of the sea.
The rain had started to fall now, stinging her skin as the wind blew it towards her. Time to go below. Just as she started to leave the rail she felt the first twinges in her abdomen. She knew she had waited till the last moment to book her passage and set off back to England, but she thought she would arrive before the baby came. They had been becalmed for a short time, and had had to put in to port once for unexpected repairs, but there still should have been time. She should not have been due for at least another 6 weeks. Maybe she had just been on her feet too long, and once she got below she could lay down.