Disclaimer: I don't own anything ok? K!

When Evalyn Henley grows tired of being ordered around like one of her servants, she decides she is in need of her own life, independence and adventure. And where does she go looking for it? On the open seas, of course.

Chapter 2

Evalyn, after being caught by the man she met in the market, who was no doubt the Captain of this vessel, felt worse than she had ever felt in her life. Not only was she embarassed beyond words as three men stared at her, but she was going to have to be taken back home. Taking in a deep, shakey breath, Eva looked up into the face of the Captain and the other men.

"Are you going to tell us what you're doing on my ship now?" The captain's voice jerked her out of her thoughts before she looked back down at the floor. 'Just lie, Eva...You don't want your adventure to end here. You won't go back home.' "I-I just needed a place to sleep for the night. I didn't know you'd be leaving the dock." Her bottom lip quivered. Not because she was a good actress, but because she was a terrible liar. She just knew they'd see through her false facade.

The handsome captain turned to give his crew an unreadable look that Eva pretended to ignore. "Where are you from?"

This was a turning point in Eva's life. She could tell the truth or lie. She so despartely wanted to lie. Gathering up her bravery and courage, Eva held her head high and sighed. "No where. I'm...not from anywhere."

"You're the girl from the market, aren't you?"

Eva nodded silently, wringing her hands which were in her lap. The lump in her throat returned as the captain turned to mutter something in a foreign language. If only she had studied German in school and not french, she'd be able to understand them. She looked up and peeked through a curtain of hair that hung across her face. The other two men, who were as large as tree trunks, were shaking their heads.

At first, Eva was ignoring their foreign banter, but the more she inclined her head to listen, the better she could hear their tone. It was as if they were making a joke about it. However, no one was smiling. For a long moment, after one of the darker skinned man replied with something in a hushed tone, the Captain turned around to face her. There was something changed in his eyes.

Unlike the friendly, helpful eyes she had seen last night, today they held something of a secret. He took a step forward, making Eva's heart race. She glanced at the other men, who said something in German.

The captain turned to say a harsh remark, shutting the other two up immeidately. "Since you are from no where, and you do not belong here...we're going to to turn the ship around and drop you off where we found you."

"NO!" Eva stood up, making the men raise their eyebrows at her. "No, please. I don't want to go back." The man looked at her as if he was suspecting her lies. She had been too rash to shout like that. Sighing, Eva smoothed the front of her shirt and tried to smile. "Please, let me stay. I-I'll get off wherever you dock next. Just don't take me back."

It seemed her pitiful pleading had hit somewhere inside the captain of the ship. He ran a tawny hand over his face, sighing heavily. With a long look to the men behind him, he turned to face Eva with nod. "You may stay. But as soon as land is within 50 feet, you're as good as gone." Eva couldn't help smiling proudly. She had gotten her way, something she was used to.

It would take more than running away to break her of being spoiled every now and then. She didn't care. She wasn't being taken back. As long as they didn't dock somewhere such as South America or Africa, she would be fine. "There are some rules that you will have to follow, however." Eva looked up at the captain through a shade of thick eyelashes.

Rules?

"What are they?" She asked timidly. Her hands came together, as they normally did when she was nervous, and she began wringing them once again. Her knuckles cracked, breaking the silence of the room. Her cheeks flushed momentarily, but the men didn't seem to even notice her rude action. "If you expect to be fed, you will have to work for it." Her eyes narrowed. "I do not tolerate any fools on my ship. You will act orderly, and if you put one toe out of line, I'll throw you over board."

Eva felt fear strike in the pit of her stomach. Surely he couldn't be serious. A man would be arrested for such a crime. Despite her sudden naseua, Eva nodded and ducked her head. "You may stay in one of the rooms available on the lower decks. If you find any of this unfair, hold your tongue." With a smirk from the two men who Eva had suddenly took a disliking to, the captain lead her out into the open air.

A spray of salty water was surrounding the boat as it sped through the waves. She had been on vessels and ferries before, but her legs were still wobbling as she walked. It wasn't as rocky as the ferry she had rode last year in New York. Just thinking back to the bumpy ride made her stomach churn. Needless to say, she had thrown up a few times when they got to dry land.

As the S.S. Venture hit a large wave, Evalyn yipped and stumbled. Her side hit the railing before she collapsed to the floor. "Ouch." The pain stung at the palms of her hands. The man in front of her laughed shortly before hooking his hands under her elbows to pull her up on her feet. He lifted her with ease, making Eva's eyes widen slightly. "You'll need to gain your sea legs if you're going to survive on this ship."

"I thought I had decent sea legs, but apparently I was mistaken." She reached down and dusted her bruised hands on her hips.

"What's your name?"

Eva paused and glanced out at the sea. She's lied so much today, what would another one hurt. "Just call me Evie." She looked back at him, licking her lips quickly. "And yourself?"

"Captain Englehorn."

He turned on his heel and sped off, making Evie have to jog to keep up. They didn't stop until he had showed her a room she could stay in. It was cramped, and had a sink and dresser. A cot occupied the corner, with a few wool blankets on top. "Cozy." Eva muttered, opening the dresser door. It was empty except for a pair of sailor pants, colored a dark blue.

"Do these belong to someone?" She asked, holding the pants up. They were long, but small. Englehorn shook his head, a small smirk on his lips. "You can have them. I'll have someone bring a few change of shirts for you. What size do you think you would wear?" Evie stared at him incredulously. How dare he ask her what size she was? Did he have a decent bone in his body?

She turned away, her nose pointed up slightly with her lips pursed. "I don't think I should be telling you that."

"Well, if I don't have your size, then you'll just have to wear those pants shirtless." Eva stared at him with her jaw slack. "I'm sure my crew wouldn't mind." He turned to leave but was stopped by a hand gripping his shirt tail. "I suppose, judging by the size of your other men, I would be more of a small. Unless they come in sizes such as tree trunk. In that case, I'll just take the smallest."

"After you've dressed, clean the deck. The supplies are one floor down in the closet."

With that, he left Eva standing in the bedroom with her lips pursed. He expected her to clean the filthy deck? It was nearly lunch time and she was starving. She gripped the door frame and stuck her head out. "I have to clean, now?"

i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!

The shirt that Captain Englehorn had given to Eva was by no means a small. It seemed more like it would fit her father better than her. Luckily, Eva had a brilliant idea to wear her jacket over the sack-like shirt, making sure it was buttoned well enough not to expose her chest to the entire crew. After she had dressed, and tripped a few times going to the deck, Eva was beginning to regret leaving her sheltered life.

She made her way, a scrubbing brush in hand, to the deck. The sun was high in the sky, but leaning toward the west. Eva looked at the watch on her wrist. It was only 2:30. Sighing, she shook her hair out of her eyes and bent on her knees to scrub the mud and muck off of the deck surface.

For a good, long and tiring hour, Eva scrubbed from the starboard to the port. Her fingers ached from being wet and cold. She sat back, making her back pop all the way down her spine. The sun was setting now, casting it's red glow all around her. Sitting back on her heels, Eva welcomed the warmth of the sun's last rays on her face. She placed her fingers in between her knees to heat them up.

A pang of guilt hit her almost at once, knocking the wind out of her. Her breath was shakey as she took it in deeply. It was no doubt that she was homesick. It felt more like a disease, creeping up into her stomach. She longed for her nice warm bed, her pillows, her closet and tennis court. Why, oh why, did she have to be so foolish and run away like that.

'I have to go back. I can't live like this.' With her bottom lip quivering, Eva glanced back at the room where Captain Englehorn sat with his friends. His laughter could be heard over the crash of the waves against the bow. She dreaded the conversation she would have when she told him. He'd grow so angry, and stare at her with those cold, mean eyes. "Well, I can't be afraid of him forever...I just want to go home. I want to see my mother and father." Tears streamed down her dirty cheeks as she turned back to the sunset.

"I want to be good, and rich, and marry Mr. Carter---" Her eyebrows came together as quick as the words left her mouth. That wasn't what she wanted at all. Money didn't matter much to her, or it never had before. Of course, she had always had it at home. Eva whiped her cheeks of the tears and stood up, wrapping her arms around her waist.

Her mind reeled, thinking over the possibility of going home. Sure it would be hell to explain what had happened, but after a month or so, things would go back to normal. But, how long until the idea of marriage would be brought up again. Would she run away once more? What were the odds that she would find another generous captain?

As she blew her hair from her face, the thought of being Mrs. Evalyn Carter sprung into her mind. Being a housewife, doing everything for her wonderful husband, it wasn't Eva's cup of tea. But, of course, going back home meant she would most likely become exactly that. Or worse, she'd become just like her mother.

Her nostrils flared angrily at the mere thought. Now she was certain. She'd rather jump overboard and be shark food than become her mother. Eva snarled, gnashing her teeth together. She was so busy in her thoughts she didn't notice that the laughter from the captain had died. Nor did she see that she wasn't alone, standing beside the rail.

"If you're hungry, food will be served in half an hour." Eva spun around, gripping the rail quickly. Her heart beat thumped wildly against her chest at the sight of a man she hadn't had the oppurtunity to meet. He was staring at her hesitantly, as if he was afraid of her almost. With a nod, Eva bent low to pick up her scrubbing brush before the nervous man turned and walked back into the lower decks.

His boots, which were quite dirty, left muddy foot prints against the freshly washed floor. Staring down at the footprints, Eva growled and rewashed them away. Once she reached the last one, she stood and popped her knuckles, making her cold fingers ache for a moment. Now, once again, the floor was shining and sparkling under the orange sun.

She sat back and smiled at what she had accomplished. Never before had she cleaned much of anything, unless she didn't want the maids of her house to do it. And now, one day away from home and she's already succeeded in doing something she would have neve done before! But, her moment of pride came to an end when a bucket of grimey, muddy water came pouring from over head, soaking her from head to toe.

She screamed and stood up, only to lose her footing and fall back on her rear. The once clean deck was now covered in what looked like watery soot. "Oops! Didn't see you down there!" Shouted someone from above her.

Eva looked up and caught the sight of two men laughing at her misfortune. It fueled her quick temper, making her stand. "OOPS! You dump a bucketfull of...of grime on me and you give me an 'oops'! You did that on purpose and you know you did! You fat, ugly brute!"

"'EY!" The man leaned over the edge and pointed a stubby finger at her. "Watch what you say, girlie! I'm more than capable of smacking those words right back into your mouth." Eva looked beyond confused. She had never heard a more stupid argument.

"Am I suppose to be intimidated by that? It's pretty easy to threaten someone when you're not even eye level with them! Are you afraid of a little girl, like me?"

"Why, I oughta..." The man trailed off and disappeared. His heavy boots could be heard thumping on the stairs, matching the quickening speed of Eva's heartbeat. She looked around for something to hit the man with, but could only find the scrubbing brush that had been soiled by whatever she had been soaked with. Frightened, Eva ran into the lower deck, trying every door to hide into. Most of them were unlocked, and she knew that if she didn't find someone nicer and stronger than the man, she would be beaten to a pulp.

She turned a corner, whimpering when another door was locked. Whipping around, she found another door and tried the handle. It turned completely in her hand, and she wrenched the door open. At the sight of a half naked Captain Englehorn, Eva gasped and tried to control her curious eyes. Failing, she swept her gaze down his bare chest, as he jumped up and stared back at her. He spouted something in German, and as if he remembered that she couldn't understand him, he shook his head.

"I-I...I'm sorry! It's just, I'm being chased by this behemoth of a man---"

"THERE YOU ARE! I'm going to rip that mouth off of your pretty little---Oh, Captain Englehorn...I didn't think you were awake."

Eva smiled wickedly and stood beside the Captain, knowing he wouldn't allow the brute to hurt a girl. She didn't exaclty know that for sure, but she was hoping he was a gentleman. "Well, I am now. Will someone explain to me why you two were playing a game of cat and mouse?"

"She--"

"He dumped a bucket of muck on top of me and your freshly washed floors! And when I confronted him about it, he resulted to violence. If it weren't for you, Captain Englehorn, I would be, more than likely, dead right now." Evie smiled proudly and held her chin high, glaring coldly to the sheepish looking man in front of her. The captain raised a curious eyebrow before turning to face his mate. "Is this true, Willem?"

He couldn't find a way around it. Probably due to his lack of intelligence, and nodded his head in shame. "I would've expected better than you. Whatever mess you made, clean it up." The one called Willem turned and walked back the opposite way, grumbling complaints under his breath. Relief flooded over Eva, although she could feel that the arguement between her and the monster wasn't over yet. Smiling, she turned to Captain Englehorn, blushing at his shirtless body.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. "Already you're causing problems on my ship. Do you always attract confrontation, or do you just look for it?"

Eva was speechless. How could he be so cruel to her. She was only a girl getting picked on by a man twice her size. How is that looking for trouble? Her throat tightened with the threat of tears. She blinked rapidly and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Captain Englehorn sighed and wiped a hand over his face. "I've lost count on how many times you've told me that today. Don't be sorry. Just try to stay out of everyone's way." With that, he stepped back into his quarters and shut the door in her face. Sniffing the tears away, Eva had suddenly lost her appetite. As she made her way back to her own room, she found that her homesickness had worn completely away. And all that was left was the thought of Captain Englehorn without a shirt.

AN- Hello again! I didn't think this story would get 1 review, let along 5...I hope there's much more to come! Also, I know there's a considerable amoung of age difference...but, if I'm thinking correctly, didn't this movie take place in the 30's? Alot of people, (my grandparents for one) married (no this isn't a marriage fic..but still) and had about 13 years of age difference. And, if you still think it's icky...don't worry, she'll have a birthday soon Please review!