The sun barely leaked through the edges of the oak door, but it was enough to wake Orianna. Sighing slightly, she lazily stretched and stared up at the ceiling, noticing the intricate patterns of the wood ceiling above her head.
(THUMP) "NO, NO, NO, you use two nails on each side, not just one…Do you want this ship to sink…well do you…" Boomed an irritated voice from the deck above.
Orianna stayed staring at the ceiling for a full ten minutes before curiosity got the best of her. Sliding out of bed, she crept over to the wooden chest neatly tucked away in the corner.
"…Am I stuttering…can you not understand the words coming out of my mouth…when I say two nails…. I mean...TWO NAILS", screeched the voice again.
At this Orianna couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "What on earth could they be doing up there", she questioned out loud, all the while roaming through her wooden chest for something to wear.
She knew that aboard a ship like this, her breeches and boots wouldn't be up to their standards, so instead she opted for a simple silken dark blue dress. She knew that with a dress like that, a corset had to be worn so, grudgingly, she pulled one out and spent the next half hour trying to put it on.
Finally satisfied she walked over to the mirror for a quick check. Staring back at her was the same person she'd seen for the past 18 years.
"Same old, same old", she muttered to her reflection. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was finally starting to look a bit more like the young woman she was instead of the lanky 16 yr old she left behind when her mother died.
Checking the room before she left, Orianna made sure her wooden chest was hidden away and the door key was safely in her left shoe before she made her way above deck to find out what was going on...
Walking along the hallway a familiar scent came to her attention and caused her insides to rumble. She could pick out the fresh smell of bread and sausages that wafted all around her. Exploration, she decided, would have to wait.
Walking in to the dining cabin, Orianna met with the same faces that appeared every morning. There was Duke and Lady Kinright, Lady Eleanor with her young son who, to Orianna, resembled an overstuffed pink sausage.
Lastly there was Lord and Lady Tersall with their painfully shy fifteen year old daughter Margaret who until now was even too shy to eat breakfast in public. Seeing them up so early surprised her, but then she guessed that with the ruckus on deck, the chances of anyone still sleeping would be slim to none.
Making the necessary acquaintances with each, Orianna quickly swooped to the dining cart, her stomach already giving way to the aggressive rumbling clearly audible to anyone nearby.
Collecting her plate full, she walked towards a small round table in the corner of the room. Out of all the tables, this one was her favourite. It was out of the way and from that position she could study everyone in the room without being to obvious.
She didn't stare at them but read their features and tried to guess their stories. Why they're on the boat, their favourite colour or Orianna's favourite; their little habits, like Lady Kinright always separates her food into section so vegetables on one side and meat on the other with anything else on either side.
After being a week and a half aboard the ship Orianna ran out of things to do. First she explored every possible place on the ship from room to room, then came introducing herself to anyone she was near.
This included the crew who quite happily updated her on every detail of their life including bits that would've even made the scum of the earth blush. Talking like old ladies they helpfully added pieces of gossip from below deck and anything else they could think of whenever she was around.
They aren't that bad Orianna noted, although they were what you'd expect for sea men, a bit gruff and vulgar at best, but at least they made the boredom onboard easier to go through.
At the moment Orianna was busily picking out the bits of rosemary from her omelette, out of all the things in the world she wouldn't eat, rosemary was at the top.
She was so entranced at the job at hand, that she didn't even notice the shadow standing over her.
"Not a fan of Rosemary I assume?" Asked a deep voice.
Orianna quickly snapped back to reality and even without having to look up, she instinctively knew who it was.
"I'm also not a fan of been sneaked up on", she replied, starting to feel a bit embarrassed about him seeing her single out the pieces of Rosemary like a hawk and placing them to one side.
"If your only here to mock me, then I suggest you go satisfy your need for self importance somewhere else", she finally stated not caring about how blunt she was.
He looked a bit taken aback and Orianna mentally noted to do that more often, at least it took the smirk of his face, a good-looking face at that.
At the last thought Orianna inwardly groaned, 'why does he have this effect on me? It's absurd…he's a pretentious, arrogant twat that seems to enjoy embarrassing me every time we meet. And to add to the fact….I don't even know his name…..'
She turned her attention back to the man standing before her. She expected to see disgust or even dislike on his face but instead, his head was just slightly tilted and his eyes intently studying her.
Although she felt surprised and a little self conscious she couldn't help but hold his gaze. There was no way she was going to let him get the better of her. There was something about him that piqued her curiosity.
All though she did not know it, he was thinking the same thing. He held her gaze and used this time to study her features. Admitting to him that although she was quite striking, there was something else that drew him to her...
Shaking his head slightly, he silently scolding himself for letting his thoughts get that far. Shame though…..
Taking his slight shaking of the head as a sign, Orianna abruptly stood up to her full height, which to her disappointment, only reached just above his shoulders. She was never one for theatrics, but she felt that such pointed egotism in his case at least entitled her to make a dignified and piercing exit.
Picking up her plate, she turned back to the man. He stepped back a bit to give her room before she gave a curt, "Good day", and proceeded to brush past him on her way out.
Short and sweet is what she had intended but now she felt a little tactless when, as usual, the perfect comeback for the situation had only just hit her.
She made her way up the stairs and onto the deck where she was greeted with the sight of the entire crew working away, helping to repair the damage that the storm had caused.
Everyone who could help was used, even the chef, who was currently cutting spare wood and handing it over to the repair men hanging over the side of the ship. Orianna dodged her way through the workers and across the deck, to the bow of the ship.
Spotting the captain she found him to be engrossed with surveying every inch of the horizon with his telescope. So instead she decided to ask her questions to the ships messenger boy, Frank, who was sitting on a near-by water barrel.
Frank was a tall, lanky and sullen boy who, despite appearances, was actually quite confident and charming. Orianna had run into him a few times over the past few weeks and found him to be rather interesting.
"Hello", Greeted Frank as he saw Orianna walk towards him, ushering for her to sit on one of the barrel besides him.
"Hello yourself", replied Orianna struggling to pull herself up, since her skirt made it impossible by getting caught on the barrels few splinters.
Frank helped to dislodge her skirt and they both sat in comfortable silence.
"So how long do you think were going to be stranded here?" asked Orianna, her eyes scanning the calm rippling of the ocean's surface.
"Probably another two or three days, just until we can make sure that every hole and breakage is repaired", replied Frank casually.
"Was the damage really that bad", she questioned, turning her attention back to the boy next to her.
"Not as bad as it could've been, but, enough so were susceptible"
Orianna was now confused. "What do you mean Susceptible?"
Frank turned his head to the horizon where the captain was still searching for the unknown.
"Pirates have been known to sail these waters, they come from the South and sail downwards. This means that were right in their path, so as you can see", he illustrated with a sweeping of his arm across the boat; "every able man has been helping to get this old boat patched up before we run into some trouble".
A simple Hmm and a nod of the head was all Orianna could manage. She was deep in her thoughts for she understood that if they got attacked, then it could potentially end her journey right there. Generally Pirates were not known to be sympathetic, especially towards women.
If she was lucky she would be taken and sold as a slave and possibly untouched, but, on the other hand, pirates around these parts are notorious for leaving no survivors after taking what they want.
Frank caught the look on Orianna's face and let out a slight laugh
"Don't worry so much about it, were well supplied with weapons, so much so, that we can take on three boat loads of them if wanted to".
Orianna, although not quite convinced of their safety, decided to change the subject. They stayed talking for another few minutes before Franks help was needed elsewhere.
Walking back downstairs, she decided to occupy herself by re-exploring the entire boat making sure to not miss any room. This only engaged her for a few hours before she reluctantly returned to her room. Deciding to finally write to her father she spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to write...
Please, please, please review this chapter and tell me your honest opinion. I know the story is going slow, especially in the romance department but I first want to build up the background of the story and characters, so please bear with me. But PLEASE REVIEW so I know there are still people reading this story…but also can anyone please tell me what a disclaimer is and do I need one?. Thanks