div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I woke from the nightmare like being dragged over burning hot coals, my heart beating loudly in my chest and a cold sweat covering me, "Alice, love, are you alright?" My father entered my small little room on the ship, face full of worry. I nodded slightly, "You were shouting, I thought... Was it the nightmare again?" I nodded once more, bringing my knees to my chest on the bed. Nightmares had haunted me my entire life, or should I say nightmare. The same nightmare, every night; my mother's death, "C'mere," he beckoned to me before pulling me into a gentle hug, "I promise you I will kill that infernal beast if it takes the rest of my life," the words were filled with murderous hatred, but his voice was soft and sincere as he pushed my unruly fringe behind my ear with the tip of his hook, /spanspan style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I know," There was nothing I wanted more than to see the demon that killed my mother's head separate from his body, "Get dressed, Alice," Father released me of the hug before continuing, "One of the crew will escort you to town this morning, you need to be ready,"/span/div
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I can escort myself," I snapped, picking up the paddle brush from the barrel I used as an end table and trying to tame my blonde curls. He laughed as he rested his hand on the door handle and glanced around my room, "She'd be so proud of you," It was barely a whisper, but I heard it. As the door to my cabin closed behind him I smiled to myself before changing out of my nightdress. I pulled on a simple maroon knee length skirt, with white lace underskirt barely showing below and a white blouse cut at the shoulders beneath a black leather corset. I tied my long golden hair in a loose ponytail held in place with a black ribbon. Finally I tucked a small dagger into one of my long black boots. Much to my father's disagreement, I could protect myself./span/div
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""I told you, I can take myself," I sighed in frustration, kicking the heel of my book on the wooden planks of the ship, "No, you're not old enough. The town, it's dangerous alone,"/span/div
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Old enough to marry a man I've never met," I muttered beneath my breath, "You'll do well not to talk back to the Captain, Miss Alice," The man with the red hat, Smee, said,/span/div
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Smee," Father warned. The older man nodded and headed back to do whatever it was he did all day, "You," he pointed towards a tall, slim boy scrubbing at the decks. The boy looked up, almost afraid. He wasn't a crew member, I had never seen him before in my life and, besides, he was just a boy, "You will escort Alice into the village. She is not to have a scratch on her when she returns, do you understand me, boy?" The menacing glares my father could throw hadn't scared me in a long time. I'd expected the deck hand to gulp, or look afraid, but he simply glanced up at me and smiled. His smile was warm and friendly, unlike that of the crew of the ship. His blue eyes sparkled in the dappled summer sunshine that illuminated his light copper skin, "Of course. I'd be happy to,"/span/div