She rounded the bed and gingerly bent down to pick up the dagger she had placed on the floor. She slipped it into its place at her belt. She did not want to face the men outside without being armed at least a little bit. She knew she probably should not face them without the captain but that would either mean waiting for him to wake up or to force him to wake up, and she did not want to do either.
She opened the door and stepped out onto the quarterdeck. She quietly closed the door behind her and surveyed the deck. The sailor manning the wheel turned around at the sound of the door opening and closing, realizing that she was not the captain he gave a curt nod and turned back to his task.
Abigail slowly approached the man, careful to stay in his field of vision. "Hello. I… uhm… Captain Vane is still asleep but I am very hungry and thirsty. Could you point me in the direct of the mess perhaps?" The sailor looked at her, "You're the lass we stole from Ned Low, aren't you? What'cha doing back 'ere?" "I suppose you could say I ran away. I helped Captains Vane and Flint escape from Charles Town. I… ," she trailed off. The soldier mustered her from head to toe. His eyes came to rest on the dagger neatly tucked into her belt. "What'cha wearing the dagger for? Where did'cha get that anyway?" his expression grew more playful? "Didn't do the captain in, did ya?" "I… what.. no! Why would I do that? He rescued me," Abigail exclaimed. True the captain had first kidnapped her before helping her escape and she should be angry at him for that, but the thought of harming him made her feel sick to her stomach. The sailor's only response was to chuckle.
"Wait a moment, lass," he said, turning away from her. "Oy, Jimmy get over here," he yelled waving at somebody further down the deck. The sailor, Jimmy, quickly came over. "What is it?" The sailor at the wheel, who still had not told Abigail his name said, "Take 'er to the mess to get some grub." Before Jimmy and Abigail could leave, the sailor at the wheel grabbed Jimmy's arm and hissed at him in a threatening voice, "Don't fucking touch 'er. She's the Captain's." Jimmy acknowledged the threat with a quick nod. "Follow me, miss."
Abigail fell into step beside him. "You can call me Abigail. Pleasure to meet you." The social customs of polite society still too ingrained in her. Jimmy just looked at her confused. Abigail could not help it and burst out laughing. "Just call me Abigail, alright?"
Jimmy quickly led her to the mess. It was mostly deserted and the cook was busy preparing the dinner meal. After explaining how she came to be here and how long it had been since she had eaten, the cook quickly prepared her a plate of bread, meat and cheese as well as an orange for dessert and a whole pitcher of water. Abigail quickly wolfed everything down, managing to empty the entire pitcher of water as well. She would probably get a stomach ache later but it felt so good to finally have a filled belly again. Jimmy had left her alone in the middle of the meal. "I trust you can find your way back?" Her only reply was a nod.
When she was done, she returned plate and pitcher to the cook who took them with a toothless grin, "Hungry, were ya?" Abigail smiled back at the cook and answered, "Positively starving really." She made to leave but then remembered the captain. He was sure to be hungry as well. She turned back to the cook and asked him, "Could you prepare some food and drink for the captain as well? I'm sure he will want some once he wakes up." The cook gave her a calculating look, "The captain's are ya?" Abigail shook her head, "No. Nobody owns me. I am here because I wanted to be." The cook started preparing the food and drink for the captain. While doing so he kept up his conversation with Abigail, "So who are ya?" Her only answer was, "Abigail." "Just Abigail. No last name?" Abigail shook her head. "No, not anymore." The cook gave her another small smile, "Alright, Miss Abigail. I'm Sam the Cook." "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," replied Abigail, giving him a dramatic courtesy. She had almost forgotten about her injury but the movement aggravated her injury once. Abigail grimaced in pain. "What's the matter lass," Sam asked, concerned for her. "Just an injury I go in Charles Town. I'll be fine," giving him a small reassuring smile.
Sam handed over the provisions for the captain. It was the same he had fed Abigail but he also included some wine. "You sure you can carry all of that, lass?" Abigail nodded and muttered a quick, "Thank you." She slowly made her way back onto the deck which was easier said than done. She was carrying a plate, a bottle of wine and another pitcher of water. Eventually she made it back to the quarterdeck, only spilling a bit of the water in the process. Giving the sailor at the wheel a quick smile, she went back inside the captain's cabin. She expected to find him awake but contrary to her expectations he was still asleep. Still in the same position she had left him. On his side, his hand searching for something.
She gently set the provisions on the table. She was still thirsty so she poured herself a bit of the wine but diluted it with water. She was not tired enough to go back to bed so instead she looked around the cabin. It was simple enough. There was the bed, the huge table she had set the provisions on and the captain's chair. She spied some books on the bookshelf and made her way over there. She ran her hand along the spines of the book, stopping when she encountered a copy of Don Quixote. It was one of her favourites. She pulled the book off the shelf and looked for a suitable reading space. There was the captain's chair but she would not dare sit in it. In the end, she settled on one of the window alcoves behind the chair, but in full view of the bed. She propped herself up using pillows so she could lean back somewhat without aggravating her back injury.