Feminist in Blue
Summary: She was the daughter of a British Lord and a Asian merchants daughter. After loosing her mother to a fatal experiment, young her father uprooted their family from the East back to his motherland in Europe. There the widowed Lord sends his only daughter to Cambridge University where she must masquerade as a man to attend these colleges.
Chapter 2: Experiment aboard
We went and bought four novels, several books held my attentions fast, especially a book by a Rousseau. And another book titled the Prince. I had to admit that Western Philosophers truly adhered to my taste in the state of things. I find them very fascinating.
We boarded the ship without much fuss, our things had long been carried in by the ship hands. Father requested that a new Trunk filled with dresses be brought to my chamber in hopes that I would change into more "refined" clothes before we had to land home and meet the Charles family, his relatives. But I had switched that trunk with my own, filled with the cloths I felt most comfortable in.
"My dear Ami, the water in you rages like the sea. I wish you would listen to me. Thankfully I had long learned to never report anything before I was fully aware of the results. I did not inform anyone of your gender. Just told them that I would be arriving with my child in a few days." I stared away from my novel and stared at my father, a smile etched on both our faces. He leaned down and kissed my Ocean colored hair. His own hair such a great contrast to my own unnatural blue hair mixed in with his corn colored hair.
I knew very well that Although I had my mother's petite form and Asian face, my father's eyes had greatly distinguished me from my fellow asian playmates. And it had been the source of much grievance for me in my younger years.
"Well that is good news. Now if you'll excuse me I will be doing a light experiment in here and I want to be certain that I will not be interrupted." Father nodded and with a final kiss exited my chambers to leave me to my work. I sat down on my desk and placed my book aside to prepare my experiment.
I wanted to see how I could change my hair to jet black like my mothers.
I had tried this experiment several times, but those trails had all resulted in failure, partly because I was trying to make my hair corn colored like fathers. Now I know that mother's jet black hair would be so much easier to achieve with my own blue hair.
I sat down on my desk and began to mix in some herbs and dyes I had purchased from several merchants throughout our journey. A dye I had purchased from Egypt once mixed in water turned into a rather grotesque looking slop of greenish mush, but the herb smelled wonderful...unfortunately it turned my hand red and I had no intention of turning my hair another strange color-especially not red.
I cast that aside and began mixing my own dyes together. I tried to color a chunk of my hair I had cut off from the front, but it only got darker. Frustrated I banged the table and a bottle of some bases I had spilled on the hair and it instantly turned dark after a quick dose of smoke.
I looked at the bottle. Ammonium Permanganate NH4MnO4, I remember mixing this before we left for Sicily. I took the bottle and tried to pry the cork open but the damnable thing wouldn't budge. Frustrated I applied a great deal of force only to have the resulting chemical spill on the table. I jumped up immediately having learned from mother to never allow any chemical to come into contact with you no matter how safe it may seem, but in my haste to get up I knocked the candle over and the fire immediately landed on the chemical and then there was a loud sound of an explosion and the room filled with smoke. I was slammed to the floor, and my room was demolished when father burst in anxiously fanning the smoke around him with his hands.
"The devil be damned girl. What have you done this time." I heard several murmurs as the rest of the ships occupants made their way to my chamber door to get a glimpse of what was happening.
"Ami. Where are you. Are you hurt?" I stood up and began to cough. My father came to me, and took a hold of my hand and led outside of the room as the smoke began to fan out.
"I'm fine papa, just had a slight accident." I tried to straighten my messed up cloths in an attempt to show him just how fine I was but that did not last long because when I brought my hand up to brush my hair away father gasped and took a hold of my left hand.
" Fine...look at your bloody hand." He took my hand and turned it to further examine the injured hand. There was a rather ugly burn on my hand, but with some attention it was sure to heal rather nicely and perhaps without even a scar.
I explained that to father but he did not seem pleased by that notion, he just frowned at me clearly not pleased by my acute reasoning.
He took me to the Ships Nursing center where they stored their medical equipments. The young maid they had to service as a nurse came forth to offer her services, but father declined her offer and urged me to sit down on the bunk.
He examined my hand, cleaned it up as gently as he could -though it still hurt like the bloody pits of tartarus- then he put a salve that stung so painfully I cried out in pain. He grimaced but scolded me none-the-less.
"Next time you will pay more attention" I stared up at him with slight tears at the corner of my eyes, he wrapped my hand and once he was certain that it was secure he wiped at the trinkets of tears on my eyes and kissed my cheek.
"Please be more careful." He warned motioning for the young maid who had watched him working with awe, to come and clear the mess.
"I will be more careful father. I was just trying to make a dye for myself, all the others fade quickly and besides what happened was I accidently knocked over a bottle of Ammonium permanganate and when I rose to keep it from touching me I knocked the candle over and the whole thing just combusted in my face." He nodded his understanding and got up.
"Well, while I do recommend your experimenting and understand your genius with physiques I must frown upon any further experimenting, this is not the first time your experimenting has gone awry." I surged upward fully ready to challenge his observation.
"I will be more careful...and..." He held up a hand to motion my silence. I would have argued further but the look of sheer determination in his eyes made me fully certain that he would not be moved to change his mind.
"I am sure you will appreciate this after you have had time to reason through your current state of mood." I nodded despite my anger.
"Yes I am certain after a time." I stared at him hurt and seeing the hurt in his eyes. I took a deep breath and nodded my consent. The look in his eyes softened and I was relieved because now I could hold some inkling of hope that I will be able to change his mind soon enough.
For the duration of our trip I contented myself to reading my novels. During our meals in the dingy and cramped mess-hall. I was forced to entertain several young ladies of noble birth who had come along the trip with their own families. I did not want to explain to them that I was a woman, and I was certain that I would never have to see them again after this trip.
Their families seemed hateful towards me, I heard them scrutinizing my bizarre ways and my barbaric hair color, but it was nothing I had not paid homage to before.