Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Here's the next chapter

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Hidden - Chapter 4 By: Hell's Huntress (PG13)
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Her eyes fluttered open only to shut tightly upon meeting the sun's gaze. The sound of waves told her she was still far from land. She stiffly sat up with a soft groan as a wave of nausea seemed to cover her wet body.

Raising one hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Serena squinted while trying to look around the room she was presently in. There was a door to the right which was wide open, three windows on each wall, and a few tables with chairs here and there. She was in the far end of the room which wasn't too big. A cot was what she had been laid on.....but by who?

The sound of footsteps alerted her immediatly. A man in his mid fifties walked in with a pipe in his mouth. Serena stiffened upon seeing him. What was he doing here? Or better yet, what was she doing on a ship she didn't even ride in the first place?

Automatically, her hands shot up towards her chest as she pulled her jacket closer together. Her hair was still tied but a few strands were falling. Her hat was tightly squeezing her hair, preventing it from falling completely. It was soaked and felt like a suction.

The man walked towards Serena and raised his brows to examine her. He walked around the cot while keeping his eyes focused on her. She felt like a mouse being circled by a hawk. His eyes were slightly wrinkled but she could still see the fierce blue gaze they directed at her. Strands of gray hair crowned his almost bald head, while a dark gray beard spread across his sealed lips.

Serena felt like she could shrink under his gaze. Did he know she was a woman? Did anyone notice? By the look on his face and the firm line his mouth was set into, she had a feeling he had noticed her long hair or perhaps the cloth around chest which was slowly starting to fall off.

The man took a step forward and looked at Serena with even more intensity. He reached out a hand and cupped her chin, turning her face to the right and soon to the left. Serena stiffened under his rough hands. Her heart was thumping rapidly, but she soon forgot about this.

The man smiled and tapped her cheek firmly, but not roughly. A small chuckle seemed to escape his throat. " What's your name, son? "

Serena nearly collapsed with relief. Son.....he didn't notice that she was a female. She almost smiled, but his deep voice kept her alert. " Um.....Samuel sir, " she cleared her throat in a desperate attempt to sound like a man.

" Well then Samuel, where's your mother and father? "

" Gone sir, " she replied stiffly in a deeper tone.

" And how old are you, " he continued to question her.

" Sixteen. "

Serena felt uncomfortable around him. The way he seemed to ask her questions constantly made her feel as if she can't afford to make one small mistake. It would give everything away. He looked a bit nice, but his eyes also told her that his observation was rather good.

His cheeks wrinkled into a smile. She could see about one or two yellow teeth inside his mouth. She couldn't make out anything more though. His pipe was in the way.

" Well Samuel, you're probably wondering why you're here. "

" Yes sir. I am, " she replied with a bit more ease. She was slowly getting use to keeping her voice deep like a teenage boy. It was the best that she could do.

" Do you remember the storm? "

" Yes sir. "

" If I'm correct, it seems as if you fell from a ship and nearly drowned. I had to get you out of the water. I know these waters and I remember that there were sharks around that area. You would've been food had we not saved you. "

" We, " she choked out in a fruitless attempt not to cough. His pipe was really getting to her.

" My crew and I. "

" Oh.....well thank you sir. I owe you my life. "

He chuckled again. " You owe me nothing, boy. You have a place to stay when we get to England? "

" This ship is going to England, " she raised her brows in disbelief.

" I'll take that as a no, " he grinned while taking the pipe away from his mouth. " Yes it is. Just came from Manila. You're welcome to stay at my place if you want. "

Serena smiled and almost embraced him, but instead, she only reached out her frail hand and shook his hand fiercly. His grip was so firm, she nearly wished she didn't do that. " Thank you sir. I'll stay for a few days and I'll help out around your home if you want me to. "

" Stay as long as you want, young lad. You don't have to help out if you don't want to either. I already have more than enough help over there. "

Serena was beaming with joy. She couldn't believe her luck. It was almost too good to be true. The man only looked rough, but he was actually quite warm. She could only hope that there wouldn't be a catch to this later on.

" Now, why don't I help you get dressed. You're soaked, and I can lend you some of my clothes- "

" No! I mean, no thank you sir. You're already too nice.....letting me stay at your home and saving my life. It would be too much if I would borrow your clothes, " Serena cut in almost instantly. Her heart began to thump again with panic.

" Alright then. Well you can just hang your clothes in here and wait for them to dry. "

" I'll just wear them wet, sir. "

The man chuckled. " Call me Harry, and we don't mind if you don't have your top on. We're all men on this ship anyway and a lot of us do that. "

Serena felt her knees grow weak. All men? " That's alright sir. I like being soaked. "

Harry knitted his brows together in confusion and laughed. " Very well then, young man. We'll be at England in about an hour. " At that, he walked outside leaving Serena dumbfounded on the cot.

She didn't know what to think. First there's the knowledge that she would have died if he didn't save her, plus by a strong stroke of luck, the ship was heading for England. Not to mention that they had almost discovered she was a girl, plus she's the only female on board. Serena wanted to laugh and go mad at the same time. It was an ironic situation, and she didn't know what to make of it.

Harry was nice to her. It also wasn't until then when she realized that he had an accent. With the pipe gone, he had quite an english accent, and just knowing that was enough to overload her mind.

Her nausea seemed to disappear and it was quickly replaced by a small shiver. A gust of wind had whipped her frail body. Standing up, she walked towards the door and locked it just in case someone else would come in.

Grabbing her hat, she pulled it off causing water to spill out. Frowning, she pulled her jacket off and squeezed the water out before tossing it on the cot. She took her shirt off which was slowly getting dry. The very moment she did this, the cloth fell off.

Serena quickly picked it up and wrapped it around her chest again. This time, it was tight and somehow assured her that it wouldn't be falling off for a while. There was a mirror standing by one of the tables. She helplessly looked at her reflection while tying her hair up in another tight bun. She grabbed the hat and placed it on her head, soon followed by the jacket.

She saw a young man. A young man with no beard, long but not too femenine lashes, and blonde hair with no bangs what so ever. Every single strand was tucked in her hat. She looked more like a man than she saw herself as back home.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a dirty piece of cloth standing beside the door and wiped up the puddle of water on the floor. Throwing it back beside the door, she opened it and stepped outside. Numerous men were surrounding her and all of them seemed to be looking at the new kid on board. She felt sick again.

Some of them smiled at her as a welcome while others only nodded. One of them walked up to her and shook hands with her. " Hello Samuel, I'm Jacob. Harry told me to see if you needed anything. You want something to eat? "

Serena opened her mouth to speak and nearly found herself speechless.....nearly. The man looked young and his hands were large compared to hers. His smile was enough to make a girl swoon. Brown bangs framed his hazel eyes, and to top it off.....he didn't have a shirt on.

" Um....no thank you. I'll be fine, " she finally replied. Unfortunately, so did her stomach. It grumbled softly, causing a faint reddish hue to rise to her cheeks. Luckily, he didn't notice her blush.

A small laugh escaped his throat. " Sounds like you are. Follow me, I'll give you something to eat. "

Serena nodded blankly and stiffly followed him down a flight of stairs. He was a tall man, making Serena face his chest. However, since his back was facing her, her eyes absently roamed down to his bottom.

" Don't look there Serena, don't look there, " she quickly diverted her gaze to the walls, trying to convince herself that they were interesting.

Almost as soon as she did that, a younger man with blonde hair passed by them with a few pieces of cloth in his hand. He smiled at Serena briefly as a quick greeting. Obviously, he was in a hurry, but once again, he was another tall one.

Serena watched him walk away and quickly turned around just in case she would look at his bottom again. She couldn't help it. Almost all the men had firms chests with their shirts off. Everywhere she looked there would always be a man working or passing by.

A small grin rose to her lips. If England was an hour away, then that hour would be paradise.

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Author's Notes: Serena's a pervert! No, she's not. What can I do? Better yet, what can us ladies do? Being in a ship surrounded by men.....O:) Anyhow, thanks for the emails and reviews. Tomorrow will be the chapter when Darien makes his entrance. Hmm.....I wonder what will happen. You'll have to wait. :)

P.S. Pardon the typos