Hello Lovelies!
Sorry that I missed uploading this Tuesday. I had parties this past weekend and then a hellacious migraine at the beginning of this week. BUT since you guys had to wait a few days, here is an extra long chapter to enjoy ;)
All the characters belong to their respective creators, blah blah blah xD
See ya'll next week! ;)
"Silver, can I have a word with you real quick?" Jim asked. I could tell he was aggravated, at what I wasn't too sure. John followed him to the stair case leading down to the main deck where they had a pretty intense exchange. I tried my best to listen in without being too obvious, but before I knew it John asked me if I was ready to go and off we went.
Walking across the deck next to John I could feel everyone's eyes fall on me. Instincts told me to shrivel up under their stares, common sense told me to raise my head higher and look straight ahead. I whispered to John "Are you sure I didn't do anything to offend anyone? Every member of your crew has stared me down since I stepped on this ship."
"Nah," he muttered. "T'is lot don't have much experience in etiquette, they act t'is way wit' just 'bout every royal t'at comes aboard." I could tell he was trying to comfort me, but I could also tell by the clench of his jaw and hard set of his eyes that he was sending silent warnings to everyone to back off. That was one skill that I had that was a blessing and a curse, I had an uncanny way of reading people's body language. I can almost read a person's mind just by the way they carry themselves, unfortunately there were times that I had no wish to know what was running through a person's head.
We finally made it down the steps into the galley, and I let out the breath I was unknowingly holding. Glancing down at me, John looked worried but didn't mention anything about it. Instead he started asking about my culinary skills and what I was capable of.
"I know the basics, but anything too complicated I'm completely lost." I grinned sheepishly throwing on an apron, "Unfortunately when you have an entire culinary staff you can't really build any skills."
"Well now is a good time as any to teach ya some cookin'. Here, let me show ya how to peel some purps. We're makin' squash and purp omlettes for everyone."
Handing me a knife while switching his mechanical hand to a peeler of his own, we set off peeling the pile of purps for breakfast. Once everything was peeled, he taught me how to slice them in the correct shape and thickness. We had to sacrifice a few of the fruits at first until I got the hang of handling the kinfe, but it wasn't too long until we moved to the next step. Once we found our working rhythm John started up a conversation.
"So, what do you like to do in yer free time? Given t'at you even get any t'at is." He asked casually.
"Well, I play violin, sing and dance a little."
"Oh come on, I can tell t'at's not all ya like to do. A spitfire like yerself has got to be getting' in some type of trouble." he chuckled.
"I do not!" I yelled playfully. He looked throughy unconvinced so I just confessed "Fine, I guess I might as well tell you. I really love to bow hunt." I was getting ready for him to click his tongue and tell me how unrefined this was given my station.
"I knew it!" When I asked him to explain, "You have a spark in yer eyes Ana. I could tell right away t'at t'ere was somethin' different about ya."
"You actually sound impressed." I said surprised. "You are probably the first person to not chastise me for being able to bow hunt."
"Absolutely not. I don't t'ink a person's position in society should determine what they're good at. Besides, every man loves a girl t'at can handle a weapon." he winked at me playfully.
The rest of the time flew by, since John was bombarding me with all kinds of questions about myself. Once everything was ready, John blew the whistle and soon the entire galley was filled with the crew. Trying to make myself useful, I started serving the plates John prepared for everyone. Once the crew was served, I made myself a plate and stood by the stove surveying the crowd. John was in the center of the room, telling jokes and stories that everyone was interested in. I could tell that even though this group carried some rough edges, they were all loyal to each other and especially to their captain.
While scanning the room, my eyes locked onto the eyes of an individual that sat in the farthest corner of the galley. He was easily the biggest creature in the whole room, possibly even bigger than John. He had 2 sets of arms, each one being almost as big around as myself, and a look in his eye that showed no emotion. His mouth was set with a huge set of fangs, so big that he couldn't even shut his mouth correctly. As soon as I examined his teeth his snake tongue shot out to lick his lips in a sick twisted way, at the same time looking me up and down. Right away my spine erupted in chills, and I turned to start cleaning up the pots dirtied from breakfast.
Trying to keep calm I threw all of my focus into what I was doing, so much so that when John asked if I needed help I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"You really tend to tune t'ings out when you're focused don't cha lass?" he grinned.
"S-sorry," I stuttered. "I was just trying to focus on cleaning the dishes."
I didn't notice that I was shaking, but John did. He turned to make sure the galley was mostly empty, then turned back and whispered "Are ya alright lass? I didn't mean to scare ya so bad."
"No it wasn't you, it was just-who was that big guy that was sitting in the back corner? The one with the fangs?"
Immediately John started gritting his teeth. "Why? Was he inappropriate to ya when you were servin' t'e crew?"
"No, I just catch him staring every time I am around. Figured I would like to at least know his name."
Rubbing his eyes tiredly, John mumbled "That t'ere was Zach. We just picked him up when we were docked at Protus One."
Nodding at his answer, I continued my work cleaning up the Galley.
"I need you to promise me somethin' Ana." mumbling a 'sure' he continued "Now I don't want to scare ya none, but promise me t'at you'll stay out o' Zach's way. I know t'e rest of me crew wouldn't hurt ya, but I don't really know t'is Zach fella. I don't like t'e way I've caught him lookin at ya everytime you walk by."
"You've noticed that too?" I asked.
He nodded. "Just be careful o' him lass. I want to make sure you make it safe and sound to your wedding day, just make sure ya always got me or Jimbo wit' cha."
"I'll promise as long as you promise me something."
John quirked his eyebrow. "Depends on what it is. I don't give me word unless I can guarantee it."
"Promise me that you won't mention this wedding anymore on this trip." I sighed, trying to keep the frustrated tears from falling. "I don't want to go through with it as it is, it's taking everything in me to not jump ship and run away. I just want an opportunity to be able to live a non-royal life, and the last thing I want is to be reminded of the responsibilities waiting for me in Montressor."
He looked like he was about to argue, but thankfully he just huffed and rubbed the back of his neck. "My job is to make sure you're safe and comfortable. We got t'e safety part down, if bein' treated like a regular lass is what makes ya comfortable t'en I'll be sure t'at's t'e treatment you'll get."
"Thanks John," I grinned. "I am about to be stuck in a place full of formalities, I need a little bit of normal before diving into that pond."
The rest of that morning went by smoothly. Eventually the rest of the crew grew accustomed to me being on the ship, everyone except for Zach. Just make sure we keep that one in our sight at all times. I was grateful for the fact that John and Jim were so diligent in making sure I was kept safe, but their concern was starting to suffocate me. I wasn't allowed to be without an escort for a second! Jim let me follow him climbing up and down the different masts, showing me the different knots as well as identifying the different galaxies as we travelled past them. When I wasn't helping Jim on deck I was at the helm with John learning all the different controls of the ship.
On my way down to the galley to help with lunch, I had to pass creepo Zach before I could get to the stairs. Walking past him my hairs stood on end, muscles tight incase he wanted to try anything stupid. Just when I was almost out of arm's reach, I feel something tug at the bottom of my shirt. Instincts took over as I whirled around and gripped Zach's hand as hard as I could. My fingers didn't come anywhere close to coming around his wrist, but I had the physical strength of my grandfather to help back me up. Wrenching his arm up, I could see surprise written on his face, he didn't expect someone of my size to have this much power.
"Now listen here buddy, I don't know who in the hell you think you are, but you have no right to be putting your hands on a woman unless she invites you to. Last time I checked, I didn't send you any invitation." I threw his arm away from me and looked him straight in his face. "I don't think I have to remind you who my father and future husband are. Touch me again and I'll be the least of your problems, got it?!" He just nodded speechless and slunk away.
Stomping towards the galley steps I didn't notice that we had drawn the attention of every person on that ship, even John came up to see what was going on. I walked so quickly past him that I hardly caught the red glow from his eye before he followed me down. Hopefully standing up to that perv earned me some respect with these idiots. Thankfully prepping lunch with John kept me busy, and from getting too upset.
While we were chopping vegetables for some stew, I glanced over at John. "You know something John?"
"Hm?"
"Since you spent breakfast asking me all kinds of questions, why don't I spend lunch asking YOU some questions?"
"Now w'at on earth would you want to know 'bout me lass?" he chuckled.
"Everything you asked me at breakfast. Let's start out with what do you like to do when you're not escorting the Etherium's elite everywhere?"
"Well I usually don't have any extra time on me hands to do any'ting."
"Oh don't give me that crap. You know you have time to do something, what do you like to do?"
He pondered a few seconds while piling the vegetables in a huge mixing bowl. Finally he answered, "Well, I'm pretty simple. I like to go to a bar and get me a good drink, go for a ride through t'e etherium."
"Oh really?"
"Yup. Sounds pretty boring compared to yer huntin' adventures I bet. I get enough excitement on my excursions wit' t'e royals so I try to spend my down time relaxing."
"An evening like that sounds pretty amazing" I answered wistfully.
"Well, we're gonna have to make sure ya get a chance to have an evenin' like t'at"
"Really?" I asked getting excited. "Promise?"
John looked me dead in the face. "I promise Anastasia"
"Ooh, using the full name are we? That's serious business John" I laughed.
John started laughing himself, "I done told ya lass, I take me promises very seriously. My pops taught me 'A man is only as good as his word'
Throughout the rest of our time prepping for lunch I asked John about a dozen more questions, most of them he just grunted or dodged it by asking me a question of his own. I had to admit I was starting to get embarassed that I answered any of his questions so freely while he dodged all of my questions to him. He doesn't have any interest in getting to know me, he is just doing his job by being friendly. Just as I was about to confront him about being so dodgy, the rest of the crew piled in and it was time to serve lunch.
This time I actually sat with John and Jim and listened to everyone telling stories about different adventures. About halfway through lunch I got this 'you're being watched feeling', and glanced over my shoulder. It was that damn creepo Zach staring me down from the corner again, only this time he seemed to be enjoying my discomfort. Obviously our little chat this morning didn't scare him off that much. If anything he probably got excited about our confrontation. As soon as I locked eyes with creepo, I could hear John's gears start working. Turning back around I caught the tail end of his red death glare before he switched it back to his normal golden one.
I knew by the look on Jim's face that John had probably filled him in about his feelings on Zach, and it made me feel a lot easier when Jim actually offered to help me walk around and gather the plates up to wash. When he brought the last of the dishes to the sink, the galley had cleared out and I was starting to wash the first few loads.
"Everything going good Ana?" He asked cautiously.
"Yeah, everything's been going great! And I already know what you're going to say, I need to keep an extra eye out for Zach."
"N-now how did you know I was going to say that?" Jim stuttered.
I looked flatly at him, "Jim, I'm a lot more observant than you think. I know John told you about Zach's behavior at lunch, I know you saw our exchange on the deck, and I know you saw the look John gave him during lunch." He just stood there scratching his head nervously. "Johns already talked to me about it. I'm not scared, I just have to keep an extra eye out is all." I gave him as friendly of a smile as I could to let him know I wasn't worried.
"Well as long as you're not too concerned about it, John and I will make sure he doesn't put his hands on you again" he assured me. Thankfully he dropped the subject and moved on to a lighter discussion.
Once things were cleaned up, I followed Jim up to the helm to talk to John about our next assignment. When we made it up there, John was deep in conversation with the ship's navigator trying to plot the best course to our first stop. "Everything in the galley is cleaned and put away Cap'n." Jim interrupted.
"Good. Now, you and Ana take t'ese tools and go scrape barnacles." He tossed a leather bag to Jim and threw me a sideways glance. "Hope yer ready to get yer hands really dirty lass."
Taken aback by his sudden harsh tone, I muttered "Aye Cap'n" and followed Jim down to the lower decks. Scraping barnacles was definite hard work, but it gave us a wonderful view of the Etherium. Working silently alongside Jim, my mind began to wonder. After some time had passed by, Jim cleared his voice to speak.
"I hope you're not offended by John's sudden attitude."
His sudden comment surprised me. I didn't think I had a reason to be offended, nor did I put too much thought into his 'sudden attitude'. Was there something I missed? I just assumed that he was stressed from running an entire crew, I didn't know that I had added any extra stress on top of that.
"Is there a reason why I should be offended?" I asked prying off the next few space barnacles.
"No, not at all." he lied, "It's just our usual escorts tend to take things a bit personal. He is taking extra precautions to make sure we can get you to your new home safely."
"Well please be sure you let me know that I appreciate the extra effort. I try to be as little maintenance as possible."
"Oh believe me Ana, you are the easiest tempered princess we've had to deal with." he assured.
For the next hour or so we cleaned the rest of the bottom of the ship. Once we were done it was well into the late afternoon and almost time to get ready for dinner. We hoisted ourselves up into the hull of the ship, and ran into John on the staircase on the way to the top deck. On my way up, I was focused on trying to tape some bandages on my hands. All of this sudden work had turned my once soft hands into sores and calluses. I was so fixated on trying to fix my hands that I didn't notice John until I ran smack into his chest.
Thankfully John caught me by the shoulders before I could tumble backwards down the stairs, and when he did he looked down to see the mess I was dealing with. His stern authoritative glare melted into an expression of care as he noticed the extent of the damage.
"Oh, lass. What happened?" He asked as he gingerly took my hands and started looking at them.
"It's nothing, I'm just not used to doing much with my hands. I promise it looks a lot worse than it feels" I tried to reassure him.
He didn't look like he entirely believed me. "Jimbo can get someone else to take over t'e dinner prep, you've helped us enough for today. I'll walk ya to yer room so you can get cleaned up."
"Thanks," I muttered, handed the bandages back to Jim and followed John back down towards my room. The entire way he wouldn't even face me, his shoulders hunched up like he was carrying the world around with him. I tapped him on the shoulder and made him jump this time. "John is everything okay?"
"Of course everyt'ing is okay Anastasia, why wouldn't it be?" He snapped.
"Because you haven't hardly spoke to me or looked at me since when we made lunch. Just a tell me what's wrong?"
By now we've made it to my door. I was leaning up against the frame when he spun around angrily and slammed his fist against the wall "T'ere isn't anyt'ing wrong I said!"
I jumped back, trying to hide my fear. You are such a damn liar John Silver. I just stood there confused as to why he was snapping at me AGAIN. After a few seconds I just put my key in the door and headed into my room. When I was halfway in, he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him once more.
His face had softened just a bit, and he looked like he was having trouble finding the words. He looked like he was going to apologize for his outburst, but after struggling to find the words he just muttered "I'm going to head up to t'e galley to help with dinner. Make sure ya lock t'e door behind ya."
"Sure," I grumbled. "Be up in a bit". I watched him walk away rubbing his neck and shaking his head, at what I'm not really sure. I did as he asked, locked the door tight and made my way to my bathroom to take a hot shower.
I couldn't tell how long I was in the shower, I tried to keep it brief but the way the hot water untied my knotted muscles was just too irresistible to leave. I had just washed the conditioner out of my hair when my bathroom door flew open with a bang. Before I knew it I was thrown and held against the bathroom wall by my throat. With the shower still running and the curtain wrapped around me, I screamed the first word that came to mind as loud as I could.
"JOHHNNN!"