The Courting of Bryn - Ch 4
Bryn sighed deeply as she crossed the deck, aiming for the galley.
As much as she liked being part of this ship's crew, she could never quite get used to the nightly shifts. If the chance presented itself she avoided them, knowing how tiresome they usually were. But tonight she had not been able to get away from duty.
They would anchor in this port one more day and each night they spent in the docks required guards to be on alert. It was not that Sinbad distrusted the people of these lands; it was more a general sense of precaution that had him assign two of his sailors to keep watch while the others could take a well deserved rest.
With her tonight there was Ahmed, a fine young man who had been with the crew for several moons already. He knew to pull his weight onboard and showed great interest in anything that concerned captaining a trading vessel. One day, Bryn was sure, he would command his own crew and ship but until then he was glad to have found work on the Nomad.
With a good natured smile the brunette turned her head back at him before she descended the few steps to the door that lead below deck.
Ahmed took night shifts much easier than she did. Sometimes he even hummed with contentment when the night was an exceptional beautiful one. Almost it seemed as if the young sailor preferred these calm and rather lonely times over the busy days on land. He even had readily agreed to take watch on his own for a little while so that Bryn could stop by at the galley and grab something to eat. For a reason she did not know she always grew hungry when the late hours of the night were fading to soon be replaced by the dawn, no matter whether she had had a rich dinner or not.
Replying her smile, Ahmed nodded at her from where he stood near the Tiller and so she continued to make her way silently down the stairs.
Inside the hull it was fairly dark. The galley was illuminated by nothing but the faint light of a waning moon and the few lanterns that were lit on deck. Shadows followed her wherever she went but they did not unsettle her. This ship had been her home for so long now and instantly she felt a little warmer when the wooden scent of the Nomad surrounded her.
Back in her early days onboard she had needed to bring a candle with her whenever she went down here in the night but by now she knew her way even in the dark. Swiftly she passed the large table in the middle and then headed for the far side of the room. There, where several doors lead to chambers of various sizes Firouz' little kingdom was seated. While he preferred to work on his inventions either on deck or in the guys' sleeping quarter, the little chamber was where he pursued his passion for cooking. Herbs and bread were usually stored there, as were any fresh fruit if they had bought some during their land-leave.
Tonight it was the bread she was after. Anyone on night shift was allowed to seek out what was the equivalent of a kitchen in order to grab something to eat as long as they did leave the room tidy.
For a moment Bryn allowed herself to linger in the dimly lit galley before she walked closer to the little room, thinking of the past days and what Doubar had done for her. Both the bath and the spectacle on the market had impressed her more than she had yet found the courage to tell him. And almost did she feel she did not deserve all this. When the day before an endless cue of people had brought her roses wherever she went she had felt like a princess and this experience made for a stark contrast to her life onboard.
Did he really think her so beautiful and precious? Did he really see a lady beneath the sailor?
And if that was so then what about her - what did she see in him?
It was a forlorn breath that escaped her lungs as she pondered the question, and then her eyebrows rose. The latter did not happen because of her musings though but rather because of a rustling that came from within the little chamber. It sounded like pots rattling and shortly after a hiss travelled through the night.
"For Allah's sake! Why must this be so difficult?"
The voice was muffled quite a lot by the closed door and the owner of it seemed to make sure to tone it down, too, but still the words were rather well comprehensible.
Curiously then Bryn approached the door, feeling her face show a puzzled expression when she opened it and found… Doubar inside.
The first mate stood bent over the narrow table that was placed in the centre, various kitchen utensils distributed all around him while he fumbled rather awkwardly with two small pots that evidently contained pepper and salt – something that was obvious thanks to Maeve's labeling of the jars which had become necessary after it had happened repeatedly that their salt had been mistaken for what little sugar they had onboard. Bryn still shuddered at the memory of "sweetened" pineapple that Sinbad had once prepared for them but she quickly shrugged that off. After all, what interested her most at the moment was Doubar's reason for being here.
"You hungry", she finally asked with a calm but also slightly amused expression.
The moment her words travelled the little distance, the first mate instantly tensed. His back straightened and he turned around to face her with surprise in his eyes.
"Bryn", he then half-gasped, "What are you doing here already?"
His remark made her frown.
"What do you mean "already"?"
She was genuinely perplexed now and when she shifted her gaze a little that feeling increased even more for what it fell on was a neat display of fruit, bread and cheese.
"You usually don't come down here before the first cries of the gulls can be heard."
His reply came quickly and it held a certain irritation to it that spoke of something important ruined.
Just a second longer she simply took the scene in front of her in and then suddenly it dawned on her.
"Doubar, did you get up to make me a nightly snack?"
She almost couldn't believe the conclusion she, herself, had just drawn so when he looked away a little sheepishly she could hardly restrain herself from gaping at him open-mouthed.
He must have memorized her little habit from the few times that they had shared the shift together. And now he had really resigned on his own sleep in order to make her this. While she would be able to retreat to her cabin in the morning he would have to stay awake and help loading the ship with the last of their new cargo. He would be dead tired but here he stood, trying to make something special for her and even spicing cheese and fruit. Unfortunately for him though fate had been cruel enough to bestow upon him an almost remarkable incapability when it came to preparing food of any kind. For someone who enjoyed a good meal quite as much as he did it was tough not being able to prepare a tasty dish, especially after Firouz had spent countless hours trying to teach him at least a few basics without any success. Still, now he stood in front of her, trying desperately to create something that she would like.
She could not help but love him for that.
"What did you want to do with the salt and pepper?", she finally asked him with a tender voice while she closed the door behind her to stand next to him.
His shoulders sank in frustration while he lifted the two jars.
"I wanted to make that mixture of fruits that you enjoy so much", he quietly admitted in defeat after a while, "You know, the one that Firouz sometimes makes."
The first mate's pale blue eyes lay on the cut pieces of fruit that he had arranged in a wooden bowl and it was obvious he was at a loss of how to continue.
The expression on his face reminded Bryn a tiny bit of a lost child and when eventually she moved to take the spice from his hands she could not fight the small laugh that escaped her lips.
"Then I suggest we better take a bit of the sweet herbs instead of salt."
The chuckle that lay in her words sounded through the little room and although for a moment Doubar had felt terribly self-conscious for his almost ruining of the fruit he soon felt a smile tug at his own lips.
He might be a failure at cooking but as he saw Bryn reach over to take two of the jars containing the precious herbs he didn't think that so much of a disadvantage anymore. While she told him with a sparkle in her eyes just how things had be done he reveled in the peace of this moment.
His plan had not quite worked out the way he had anticipated but as he stood there next to her, listening to her melodic voice he decided that he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.