Only Time Will Tell - Chapter 10
January 21st, 1752 - Midday | Davenport Homestead
Tia sighed in content as she took a few steps into the small stream, the cool water gently drifting around her calves, effectively removing the top layer of dirt that had been building up ever since she popped up into this time period. To say she was simply relieved would be an understatement, for no words could truly explain how her inner city girl was squealing in complete and utter content at the thought of finally bathing after such a long time.
"Thank you Hope." She muttered quietly, reminding herself to thank the young woman properly when she returned to the house.
After the two of them had left the befuddled Liam and Shay outside, Hope had sat her down in front of a hearth to fend off the cold morning air and also to have a hot cup of tea (at least Hope had had one, Tia was more of a Milo or hot chocolate kind of person) over a small 'breaking the ice' session. Hope had asked her various questions about where she comes from, how she got here and how long she'd been here for. It was almost as if Shay had not told her a thing at all but after Tia voiced her confusion, Hope had simply said that she wanted to hear it from the very person herself rather than go off the words of a brash young man like Shay.
It was almost an hour into their getting to know each other when Tia had begun to whine about not having a bath for almost a month. Hope had simply laughed and given her directions to the very stream she was now sitting in. It was a nice private area where she could bathe herself in peace - at least that was what Hope had told her. There was no actual 'cover' that she could hide behind if someone suddenly decided to pop up on her so she simply stripped down to her bra and panties, leaving her dry clothes hanging on a random tree branch that was sticking out of a particularly short tree. She would have to ask Hope about another set of clothes she could use - perhaps borrow a set of her own since they were roughly around the same size, Hope being a tiny bit taller than herself.
The thought of acquiring a new set of clothes brought her mind to the topic of her own independence in this era. She had no clue how things worked around here. She couldn't simply go online and hand in a resume, or ask her parents to support her for a little bit while she searched around for a job - she was on her own now and the feeling almost overwhelmed her to the point of tears, but she had quickly corrected her attitude and gave herself a small pep talk before she could reach that stage.
'Another thing I will have to ask Hope about, I guess…' She thought, finally snapping out of her dazed state so she could start scrubbing herself clean.
She was almost done with her hair when she heard a tiny crunching sound coming from behind her. She immediately stopped what she was doing and snapped her eyes to the trees and brush that lined the small stream. After a few moments of searching and finding nothing, she returned to her attention to her hair again. That was when she heard another sound, this time sounding like a small scuffle. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, lowering herself even further into the water until it came up to her neck.
"Who's there?" She called, not bothering to wonder if it was an animal or not - those noises sounded too careful.
Not two seconds later, her eyes caught fast movement up in the trees, a figure coming to a stop in the tree just above the one which held her clothes. It was then that she could make out Shay's face in the semi-shade that was provided by both the trees and his hood. His eyes seemed to switch between gazing at the floor to looking at the sky, obviously refusing to look at her in her semi-naked state - not that he knew that (she hoped for his sake, at least).
"Lass." He muttered in greeting, eyes still dancing everywhere but at her.
"What are you doing here, Shay?" She asked in a slightly irritated tone - she was hoping to catch a few hours on her own after this, coming to accept the fact that these people probably won't let her out of their sight after this. Seems she can't even take a bath without having someone around.
Shay slowly removed his hood and leaned his back on a sturdier tree branch so he could change his footing in the arc of the tree to a more comfortable one, then chanced a quick glance down at her. His dark brown orbs connected with her own honey brown ones for less than a few seconds before he looked away again.
"I was practicing my free-running. I…" He rubbed his free hand at the back of his neck. "I had no idea you were here, lass..."
"Well, I guess that's pretty obvious." She stated, crossing her arms under the water, causing it to ripple around her before muttering in an accusing tone, "That doesn't explain why you were trying to hide though…"
"I was coming down here to get a drink of water-," he gestured down to her, sneaking another quick glance, "-until I accidentally spotted you, that is. I was going to disappear but then you heard me..."
She hummed, not taking her eyes off of his form for a second. He seemed to be telling the truth but that didn't stop her from being a little suspicious. After all, Shay could have simply kept going and ignored her, he didn't have to stop. She shook her head at these thoughts - Shay didn't really strike her as the openly perverted type. Not unless it was subtle or welcomed, at least.
"Well?" She said after a while, lifting her hands out of the water to make small shooing motions with her hands. "Go on then. I'm not here to perform for you."
Shay's hesitant demeanour seemed to disappear at her words, a small smirk appearing on his lips, though his eyes kept to the floor, "A shame, lass. I would have-"
'I take that back, he is perverted.' She thought unamusedly. She cut him off before he could finish, "Go away!"
He immediately resumed his free-running after hearing her annoyed shout, but not without a cheeky laugh escaping his mouth. After she was sure that he was gone, she huffed and quickly finished washing up before getting out of the water. She didn't really want to dry out in the sun after that ordeal so she simply chucked her clothes on over her wet form and started the trek back to Hope's house.
"Hope, I'm back." She announced upon walking in the front door. There was no response. "Hope?"
"I'm in here."
She followed the sound of Hope's voice to find her in what appeared to be her bedroom. She gazed around in awe when she stepped into the unexpectedly large room, immediately taking in the beautiful red and purple accents that Hope had set up amongst the dark wooden furniture. In the future, this would probably be something you would see in a home decor magazine, it was that beautiful. Hope sure knew what she was doing.
Hope looked up from where she was seated in front of her vanity table. "Tia, good, you're back. I have prepared some clothes for you to wear until you acquire some of your own. You can find them in the guest room where you'll be staying - just down the hall there."
"Oh sweet, thank you. Read my mind." Tia sighed, rearing back out the door with a smile, "I'll be right back."
"Take your time." Hope said, turning back to her mirror.
Tia shuffled awkwardly down the hallway, humming as she went. Her clothes were starting to feel uncomfortable because she had still been wet before she put them on, and now her clothes were sticking to her skin. Once she entered the room, she gently shut the door behind her and walked over to the bed. Hope had three dresses spread out neatly on the bed, all of different colours but mostly of similar design.
"Damn it, I forgot about those things..." She muttered, eyeing the corset that was sitting innocently to the side along with the stockings and a pair of dark brown, knee-high lace-up boots - similar to Hope's. She walked back over to the door and peeked her head out, "Um, Hope? Could I possibly have your help?"
She heard Hope shuffling around in her room before she came waltzing out with a small but amused smile, "I was waiting for you to ask that."
Tia simply shrugged and moved aside so she could come in. "We don't wear corsets in my time. At least, not for the purposes it serves now."
"Alright, well..." Hope started, waving her hands at Tia's clothes as she picked up what looked like a white dress shirt for women. "Let's get you out of those men's clothes and into this shift over here."
"Alright." Tia paused before sheepishly looking Hope in the eye. "Can you please, uh, look away?"
Hope sighed and faced the opposite wall while Tia quickly undressed out of her damp clothes, gently taking the white shift that Hope was holding and slipping it on, followed by putting on her stockings which reached a few centimetres above her knees. After that, Hope helped her put on the ivory petticoat, which sat around her waist and flowed down to her ankles. Then came the corset, or "stay" as Hope had put it. Tia shifted uncomfortably when Hope wrapped it around her front and began tightening the laces.
"Relax. I won't do it too tight." Hope assured, taking notice of the way Tia was holding her breath.
"Sorry." Tia immediately coughed in an embarrassed manner and relaxed her tensed body.
"Did you choose which gown you prefer to wear?" Hope asked, walking over to the bed after she was done with the corset and running her hands over one of them - a pale pink and white gown that looked way too sweet for Tia's liking. As nice as it looked, it just wasn't Tia's style.
"I think the middle one looks the nicest." She admitted with a thoughtful hum.
It was a simple light blue gown with long sleeves, a modest neckline and minimal frills. It was something Tia wouldn't mind wearing. For now, at least. She didn't feel like sacrificing her sweater and jeggings to the eighteenth century just yet. Who knows? There might be a time where she will actually need them.
A few minutes later, Tia stood fully dressed in front of a full-length mirror. She sighed downheartedly at the sight. Her mum would've loved to see her in a dress like this, even if it was just a picture. Maybe she should take one of herself later so she could show her mum - if she ever gets to go home, that is. She doesn't see that happening anytime soon.
Tia glanced at Hope in the mirror, who was looking at Tia's apparel with approval. She spoke up, successfully drawing the young woman's attention to her face, "Hey… I'm just gonna go for a walk, if that's cool with you."
Hope nodded, "Go ahead. I have to head out and run a few errands for Achilles anyway so I won't be back until late in the evening." Hope was almost out the door when she called over her shoulder, "Don't forget about your boots. It's cold out there."
"Ah yeah, thank you. See you later."
She waved to her as she stepped out, her small smile slipping off her face the second Hope's form disappeared around the corner. Sitting on the bed, she slowly reached down and laced up the boots in a loose and lazy manner. She then stood up, wiggling her toes a little bit so she could test the comfort of her new temporary boots.
'Funny how we are practically the same size.' She thought. 'One less thing to worry over, I guess.'
She ambled her way out of the house, her mind heavy with the thought of home. She missed her parents. She missed Mark. She missed warm showers. Hell, she even missed school at this point. She hated the fact that even though she was given answers, no matter how vague they had been, she still had no clue what the hell she was supposed to do and how it was going to get her home. These people were trying to help her, to the point of even offering her a place to stay and yet, she still felt all alone.
She eventually found herself near the large manor, it's looming form seeming even larger now that she was actually paying proper attention. It is truly a nice house though, and from what little she saw of the inside, she could also say it was pretty nice on the inside - not necessarily her style, but still nice all the same. She wondered if Achilles stayed here alone? It seemed too big only to house one person. Surely, he had someone else in there with him - perhaps a family?
She shook her head before her curiosity could get the better of her and turned around with the intention to head back to Hope's since she had nothing to do, when she spotted Chevalier in the distance. He was striding his way towards her, looking tired but still as intimidating as ever. It made her question whether the man was ever truly happy - a frown or a look of scorn seeming to be the only way she can remember his face.
"G'day sir." She greeted, giving him an inviting smile when he finally stopped in front of her.
"What happened to calling me Chevalier, eh?" He asked with a raise of the brow, his frown still tugging away at his lips. He certainly wasn't one to beat around the bush.
She nervously rubbed her arm, "U-uh, I only did it that one time because-"
"You may continue to call me that if you like." He interjected, obviously not in the mood to hear her rambling, yet still feeling generous enough to give her the privilege of first name basis with him.
'What a strange man.' She thought, a question lingering on the tip of her tongue as he swiftly proceeded to make his way past her without another word. 'He could use a nice, warm hug...'
The afternoon had finally rolled past, the sun slowly making its descent into the horizon as the bright blue sky had begun to turn various shades of pink and purple. Quiet shuffling sounds could be heard as Tia lightly danced her way towards the door to Hope's abode, her movements slightly restricted due to the tightness of the corset and the layers of her skirt. She was quite a sight for the people who happened to spot her walking down the path, after all, hip-hop based dance moves probably weren't the most ideal kind of movements for a young lady of these times.
She was in a significantly better mood than when she first left the house this morning, having gone to see the horses in the barn after Chevalier had left her standing on her own. One thing she hadn't expected was for them to be so big - she almost pissed herself when one of them loudly whinnied right next to her ear. After getting over the initial shock of their sizes, she had started to pet and coo at them as one would to a newborn baby. There was one particular horse that had caught her eye - a beautiful pinto mare that kind of reminded her of Rain from the horse movie, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Perhaps she could ask one of the others to teach her how to ride when they had the free time.
Tia walked into the house with a small grimace, gently reaching around to rub at her back with light strokes. It had only been a few hours and the corset was already starting to give her problems. Moving into her new bedroom, she sat down on the stiff bed and heaved a breath - which, of course, didn't come out as strong as she wanted it to due to her new restrictions in movement.
"I got myself a 40
I got myself a shorty
And I'm about to go get lifted."
She blinked, her eyes immediately drifting over to her bag where her phone was ringing away in an obnoxious manner. 'I really need to turn that thing onto vibrate only.' She thought, reaching over and grabbing her phone out of the front pocket. She clicked the answer button, flinching when a loud shout sounded from the speaker.
"Oh! Oh, hi stranger! What's up? What are you doin'?"
"M-Mark. I-"
"You said you would contact me two weeks ago, Tia! Do you know how worried I've been?" He uttered out the last part in a quieter tone of voice, she could almost picture him running a hand through his hair in frustration. "And while you've been off doing god knows what, your parents still won't tell me a thing about where you've gone. I know something is wrong, Tia!"
She immediately began to console him, shifting herself so she could lay down on her bed - this would most likely be a long talk, "Alright. Alright, I get it and I'm sorry. Please just… Calm down and let me explain."
"Well, this better be good." He grumbled, "I have been waiting for two weeks."
She chose not to retort back to him, knowing nothing good would come out of a verbal fight with him - he has a sharper tongue than she has when it comes to situations like this.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush with this, Mark. I'm just gonna say what it is, and be done with it." She said, letting out a tired sigh. She was hoping that this day would come later, when she would better understand the situation she'd gotten herself into, but it seems luck was not on her side. "You remember how I was going about that book? Well, it has transported me back in time to the 1750's and I don't know how the hell I am going to get back."
Mark immediately took to her words with a loud laugh. "Are you high? You honestly expect me to believe that that book has taken you back in time? What's next - you have a pet unicorn?"
"Mark, come on." She deadpanned, sitting up again. "I'm being serious here. You wanted the truth, you got it. I don't know how else to explain it, but that's how it is…"
She heard him let out a long sigh. "You have to understand this from my point of view, chica. You... Do you even realize how crazy you sound right now? I mean, a magic book taking you back in time? You wouldn't even be able to talk to me right now if you were back in time, right? I mean, that's not possible. Time-travel is not possible."
"Look, I know it sounds far-fetched but I can prove it to you! Give me a minute, I'll call you back." Tia exclaimed before hanging up and sliding off the bed. She ran back out of the house, almost bumping into a partially surprised Hope when she burst through the front door. However, before Hope could even open her mouth, Tia was jogging past her, "Can't talk! Gotta go!"
If Hope called out to her, she didn't catch it as she was already halfway down the path towards the small bridge that would lead towards the homestead. She almost tripped a few times since night had moved in and she didn't know the terrain that well, but she quickly regained speed after she turned on the flashlight app, lighting up the path ahead of her. Luckily, not many people were out at the moment so they wouldn't see her running past them like a madman with a peculiar light source that shouldn't exist yet.
She was just reaching the homestead when she spotted a lone figure sitting before a small bonfire not too far from where she was. She quickly pressed the back of her phone into the skirt of her dress and covered it with her arm, obscuring the bright light from their view before they could notice her. She quietly continued to scurry past in hopes that the person wouldn't hear her and instead continue to sit peacefully in front of the fire. She was just about to pick up her sprint again when she heard a deep voice call out to her.
"Lass? Why the rush?" She immediately recognized the accent to be Shay's.
In normal situations, she probably would have stopped and explained herself, but Mark was waiting for her and she had already made him wait two weeks longer than he really should have. With that thought in mind, she continued to pick up the pace until she was into a fast run again. She whipped her phone in front of her, lighting up the path that was slowly growing more narrow and rocky as she got closer and closer to her destination. She finally stumbled onto the docks with a weak gasp, a dull pain shooting up the back of her spine from her waist.
'Guess this is my punishment for running with a corset on. Curse this stupid thing.' She sourly thought, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees in an attempt to breathe easier. It didn't help that her stamina was pretty low after doing zero physical activities for almost a month, but it lessened the pain a little.
Shay's heavy footsteps pounded on the dirt behind her before they came to a slow stop right in front of her. She stared at his dirty boots as he spoke up, "What are you doing out here, lass?"
"I-I have to take... a picture of... y-your ship." She stammered, the air still escaping her lungs at a faster rate than she could process. She blinked up at him, wonder crossing her mind when she saw how he hadn't even broken a sweat or looked puffed out in the slightest.
'The school sports department would've loved him, for sure…' She marvelled before dropping her head back down in exhaustion.
"My ship?" Shay tilted his head in confusion, eyes trailing to the said ship that gently rocked in the water beside them. "What do you need a picture of The Morrigan for?"
Tia shook her head and slipped out of her gown, ignoring the slightly startled look that Shay was giving her. All she cared about right at this moment was taking the damned corset off, or at least loosening it so she could breathe better. She reached behind herself to deliver a hasty tug at the strings that held the devilish contraption together, letting out a groan of frustration when she found that Hope had double-knotted it at the bottom, making it practically impossible for her to loosen it herself.
She glanced up at Shay with a pleading look and turned around so she could point at her back where the knot was, "I'd really appreciate it if you could help me with this..."
Shay's eyes travelled down from her face and down to the small of her back, "I'm not usually one to complain," He cheekily started, earning a glare from the girl before continuing, "But why are you disrobing? You'll freeze out here in this weather, lass."
Tia pouted and urgently waved her hands at her back again with the hopes that it would make him act faster, "Just, can you - this thing is killing me, dude. C'mon, please?"
There was only a small sigh in response from the young Irishman as he set to work on the knot that Hope had created, politely taking a step back when his deft fingers had finished the task. The pressure around Tia's waist and chest considerably lessened, her lungs dragging in a grateful breath of the salty ocean air that drifted around the two of them.
"Thanks." She said, removing the corset and dropping it to the wooden docks below their feet with a huff, "The things I put up with in this era."
Shay released a small chuckle at her actions and then gestured to his newly acquired vessel, "So, what is it you wanted with my ship then?"
"Oh, right. Uh, Mark doesn't believe that I travelled back in time so I figured if I send him a picture of this-" she lifted her phone up after making sure the flash was on and faced it towards The Morrigan, thumb tapping the little circle on the screen once she found a suitable position, "-then he will believe me, for sure."
While Tia started to babble away at how the flash had only helped in the "tiniest way possible", Shay simply stood there with curious eyes shifting between the phone she held in her hands and his ship that innocently bobbed up and down in the water. He took a peek at the screen as she looked over what would be her fourth attempt at something she would call decent.
Shay, on the other hand, was simply amazed by how clear the images were coming out, having never seen anything like it before. Sketches and paintings were good, but this was great - it certainly would've helped with some of his missions where he had to locate a specific target. It didn't help that half the time, the target's sketches were going off the descriptions given by several people, so half the time they weren't even accurate.
"Are there no ships in your time, lass?" He inquired after watching her fiddle with her phone for a while longer, slowly trailing after her as she moved further down the docks to take yet another picture of The Morrigan.
"Oh, there are. Ones like this are practically non-existent though. Replicas are the closest things you can get to one of these." She stated, a triumphant grin slipping onto her face when she was finally satisfied with the outcome.
Shay hummed distractedly, her statement practically going in one ear and flying out the other as she began tapping several things on the screen, drawing his attention back to the phone once again. "What are you doing to it now?" He asked.
"I'm just editing it a little… Ready, watch this." She said with a little giggle, watching Shay's face contort into a confused expression when she put a rainbow effect over the picture. She laughed, eyes twinkling with amusement as she turned her head to look up at him. "I made your ship fabulous."
"I'm sure that would scare off any man who'd try to take her on, lass." He chuckled.
Tia giggled, removing the effect before sending the final photo to Mark. It didn't fully display the whole ship but it still got a good enough view of the cannons on the side and a bit of the mast, as well as the wheel and captain's cabin. Hopefully this would be enough to convince her friend for now since she couldn't do much while it was dark out. He would have to wait until tomorrow if he wanted more proof. Her phone immediately began to ring in her hands again, the loud ringtone making the two of them jump in their places slightly.
Tia looked up to the young Irishman with pleading eyes, "Please be quiet while I talk to him..."
"Of course, lass." Shay replied with an oddly blank look on his face. Tia's lips formed a thin line as she gave Shay a suspicious look, to which he simply shrugged in response.
"Hello, Mark?" She answered, nervously chewing on her lip as she waited for his response.
"Yeah, hi…"
"So?" She began, "Do you believe me now?"
"I guess so but it would've been more believable if you were actually in the photo, you know."
She sighed. "Alright, then let's video chat and I'll show you."
"Best thing I've heard from you in a while, chica." Mark chuckled, his mood doing a sudden one-eighty. "I'll call you. Hang on."
When her friend hung up, she immediately grasped Shay's forearm and tugged him closer to the ship. "Quick, I gotta get on." She squeaked, swinging his arm around in a show of urgency.
He frowned at her question, gently removing his hand from her grip, "It's freezing out here, lass. You should go home where it's-"
"Aw, thank you!" She interrupted, giving him a big smile.
He merely gave her a displeased look and proceeded to leap onto the side of the ship so he could reach over and help her up. Luckily, the ship was pretty close to the dock so she wasn't too scared about accidentally falling into the water, but it didn't stop her from darting nervous eyes at the small gap as she hitched her skirts up a little so she could climb easier.
She latched herself onto the ladder with a nervous laugh and began climbing, almost letting out a scream of surprise when Shay reached down and grabbed both of her wrists to pull her up the rest of the way. She clumsily scrambled onto the deck, crashing into Shay from the momentum and sending the two of them toppling over onto the floor.
Shay groaned, lifting his head up to look at Tia, who had landed right on top of him. A cheeky smile broke out onto his face as she moved off of him and allowed him to stand up, "I hope this isn't how you get all your men, lass."
She was about to give him a piece of her mind when her ringtone interrupted the two of them again, so she resorted to sending him a glare while she fumbled with her phone. She tapped the answer button for the video call and held the phone out at arm's length so she could walk around
Mark's face popped up on the screen, his cerulean eyes immediately lighting up when they caught sight of her. "Hey, you." He greeted with a smile.
She couldn't control the grin that broke out onto her face at the sight of best friend. It was almost as if a small weight had dropped off her shoulders just by seeing him and hearing his voice - it was a small slice of home.
"Mark, hey…" She rejoiced, quickly picking herself up off the floor and dusting herself off. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Shay staring at her as she began walking around with her phone. She raised a brow when Mark's camera started shaking, lined up cars showing in the background as he strolled past them.
"How are you, chica? I missed that face of yours around here."
She shrugged, "As good as I can be for now, I guess. Where even are you?"
He winked at the camera, zooming it closer to his face so all she could see on her screen was his mouth as he whispered the next part, "Well, I'm walking to my car right now, but I just had dinner at this super fancy restaurant. You jealous?"
She giggled, "It depends. Was that 'fancy restaurant', McDonald's?"
The camera zoomed out again and displayed his blank face as he shook his head, "You know me too well."
"Yeah, that tends to happen when you become best friends with someone." She commented with a laugh. "Anyways, you ready for your proof?"
"I've been ready for a while now, chica." He said, giving her a serious look. His camera shook a bit more as he unlocked his car and slid inside, propping his phone up onto the dashboard. "Now, whatcha got for me?"
"I'm on that ship - the one I sent a picture of before." She revealed, lifting the camera up in the air so he could get a better view of what was around her.
Mark leaned forward, squinting his eyes a little. He hummed and nodded his head a few times, "Yep. Gotta be honest with ya, I can barely see a thing."
"Well shit, Mark. I can't control the sun when the sun comes up." She nagged, laughing when he gave her a sarcastic 'ha ha' in response. "But honestly dude, this is as good as it'll get for now. Not until another day, at least."
"I guess I can wait until then for my proof." He mumbled, propping his arms up on the wheel and leaning his chin on top of them. He squinted at his phone again, "Um, what are you wearing?"
"Oh yeah." She said, glancing down in surprise - she had completely forgotten about showing her clothes. She aimed the camera downwards, "Say hello to eighteenth century clothing, Mark."
"Wait, didn't girls used to be big on wearing those corset things back then?"
She groaned, "Don't even get me started on those. I took the stupid thing off since it was trying to kill me."
"I'm surprised you're even wearing a dress, to be honest." Mark admitted with a chuckle, referring to the lack of skirts or dresses that she had in her closet.
"Hey, just because I don't wear dresses all the time, doesn't mean I don't like them." She retorted with a firm nod, facing the camera upwards again.
She shivered as a particularly strong gust of cold wind blew past her, the coldness easily seeping through the thin material of her shift. The petticoat wasn't too bad since it was layered with cotton and wool, but she could still feel the cold air on her legs and it was enough to make her teeth start chattering away.
"Either way, I prefer you in your normal clothes. You look more… you." Mark said, a soft smile on his face.
Tia grinned and flashed a peace sign at the camera, provoking a light chuckle from her friend. She was just about to spin around so she could see what Shay was up to when she felt something gently being draped over her shoulders, making her blink in surprise. She turned around, seeing Shay walk off in the other direction, now jacket-less.
"Who the heck was that?" Mark questioned, eyes now alert as he grabbed his phone off the dashboard and brought it close to his face. "Did some dude just give you his jacket?"
She nodded slowly, still slightly surprised at Shay's small act of chivalry. "Yeah…" She murmured, her eyes followed Shay's form as he walked over to a random cannon not too far from her and leaned on it with his back still facing her.
"What? Who is he?"
Tia snapped back to attention and looked back at the camera, tugging the warm jacket around herself. "... Shay." She hesitantly revealed, waiting to see if her friend would remember the name or not.
Surely enough, he did, his face contorting into one of suspicion and incredulity, "Shay? Isn't that the name you were calling out to when you passed out that time?"
"Y-yeah, but I-"
"You are totally seeing this guy in secret! Is that why you've suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth?" Mark interjected, all too eager to jump into his assumptions.
She shook her head, "No, no, no. He's just one of the people who are helping me out. This is his ship I'm on, actually." She added, glancing around herself again.
"Oh, so the dude's a pirate then?" He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No…" She paused in thought, "Well, not that I know of. I don't actually know what he is."
He scoffed and leaned back in his car seat, "So you just decided to trust some random dude with your life while you are stuck in the past?"
"It's not just him." She corrected bluntly, "There are a few others too. They saved me, actually…."
"Please, enlighten me."
She sighed as she delved into her story of how she first appeared here, her best friend repetitively cutting in halfway through sentences when he found something particularly interesting or strange.
'This is going to be a looong night.' She thought.
A/N: Yoooo guys! So this is the longest time I've gone without updating, and let me tell you - I actually feel so bad. :') I couldn't help it though! My older sister bought me the Jack The Ripper DLC for Syndicate so I've practically been glued to the PS4 these past few days. I also rewrote this chapter like 3 times cause I hated it the first few times I did it XD
There was a bunch of great reviews over the past few days though. I'm so glad that you all seem to like Tia. I was so worried about that as I started to take this story more seriously and write more chapters. I'm also super happy that you think my characterizations are good! That's what I was aiming for~ woo! :D Like I said in the last chapter, I think this story might be way longer than I thought it would be but that's a plus, right? ;) Shay deserves it. We need more Shay stories!
P.S. I promise I will not abandon this story, okay guys? Not unless it is with good reason, which I do not have right now, so do not fret. I will complete the story - if not for you guys, then for myself. This is actually pretty therapeutic :')
P.S.S. I apologize for any mistakes that may be present in this chapter. #ineedsleep XD