Authors note: I'm really sorry I haven't updated in a while my life got crazy hectic all at once. I'm glad to be back to writing though.
Alas, read on.
The salty smelling room was cramped. Mally and I awoke about the same time, to the sound of a child screaming in the room next to ours. My head was pounding and the sheets were very stiff and smelled of old prunes.
"Mally, you remember that dock we passed last night?" I say, rubbing my forehead.
"Yeah," she says sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Her curly brown hair made a sort of dark halo around her round face. She had a beautiful cherub look I had never really noticed before now.
"We're going to have to go back there, that's where he's supposed to be docking today, about four o'clock," I say swinging my legs to the side of my bed to stand up, "I was thinking that you and I could go buy some things before we get on that ship. Heaven knows how long it'll be before we're on solid land again. Maybe we can get you a really pretty dress and we can find you a lad aboard the Pearl! Oh Mally, wouldn't that be splendid?" I sigh, slipping on a nicer dress than the one I'd been traveling in. I turned in front of the dirty, cracked mirror in the little room and pause.
"What if he doesn't remember?" I whisper to myself. Suddenly, my mind is filled with nothing but worry. I start to mutter to myself. "What if he forgot? What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he found himself a lass? My word, Mally what if he doesn't think I'm pretty?" By the last question, I was practically screaming at Mally and hyperventilating.
"Leigh Anne," Mally says running to comfort me, sitting on the edge of my bed covering my burning face, "You are beautiful. And of course he's going to remember you, he was so close to your brother, how could he forget you? Look at me. Ever since you were ten and I was twelve, I have always been jealous of you. You're so slender and gorgeous. Any man in the village would be more than pleased to have you as their wife. Me? I am nothing but a servant girl with calloused hands and a face round enough to belong to a baby. Now you must promise me you will never forget just how beautiful you are and the Captain will love you."
"Mally I-"
"I do not want to hear anything. I put that all out there, but I don't want any response at all. Now I am going to get dressed, we are going to walk out of here, pay for our room, and we are going shopping," she says turning to put on one of her two dresses.
"Wait," I stand up and walk over to my trunk, pulling out a soft lavender dress, "Wear this one. It'll make you look beautiful. No questions asked, put it on right now."
Mally stood, absolutely silent. I handed her the dress and she looked at me. She turned around and got dressed slowly as if worried she'd break the dress. She turns around to face the mirror head on and she starts to cry.
"Mally, you look gorgeous!" I could hardly believe it, the dress was astonishing on her. Her hair fell over her back and she looked to be twenty rather than eighteen. "I think we're going to skip the shopping today." I look at her. "Okay, you need to trust me right now. I know just what to do." I sit her down on the bed and I take a brush out of the trunk. I brush through her hair and decide to give her plaits. After about an hour and a half, I had finished with her plaits and I put a little bit of powder on her face. She now looked more like an angel than a cherub. I was more than pleased with my good job. I sprayed a bit of perfume on her wrists and let her see herself in the mirror. "You can get any guy you please. Trust me, love, you're gorgeous."
Mally could hardly take her eyes off herself. "I don't look like me!" I laughed to myself.
"Let's go, Mally, it's three-thirty. We have just enough time to get checked out and down to the docks," I say, taking out the locket I had packed and putting it around my neck.