Story: Lauren (all chapters)

a young, nineteen year old, girl sat in the back corner of a less than reputable tavern filled with smelly old sailors, cut throats, thieves, and whores. The tavern owner was away from the bar again so she was using the opportunity to rest. Her chin length white hair was soaked with sweat and her hands were bleeding because one of the blisters on them broke, no one cared though as long as she gave them their drinks on time and kept the floor cleaned. Small tears slid down her face as she sat in the dark, smoke filled room, she just wanted to go home now; being the forgotten daughter in a family of twenty was far better than this torture that had become her existence.

She couldn’t believe she thought she would be able to make it on her own, she was born and raised as nobility so everything was always handed to her, the world outside of her father’s castle wasn’t as free or beautiful as it seemed from her windows. This new world was found to be dark and frightening, the people were just out to take advantage of each other and no one knew how to be kind or trusting. Those who were naive enough to believe in the good of their fellow man were swiftly used and abused until their whole concept of right and wrong disappeared.

On paper she was employed at the tavern but in all reality she was a slave. The owner had found her out on the streets after she ran away from home and tricked her with the promise of a hot meal, a place to sleep, and even a job so she could earn money. As soon as she agreed to work for him however things took a dark turn, he charged her for her meals and room making sure they cost far more than what she earned working for him. She was a debt slave now forced to serve in the tavern until the owner got bored with her and decided to sell her off, thee had already been a few offers made but they weren’t high enough for the greedy owner so she remained his property.

she wore the cloths of a pirate but they were way to big for her, half her head was lost inside the bandana she wore and her sleeves were so long she had to roll them up to use her hands. Even though she was 5 and a half feet tall the cloths made her look small, her starved state made her look even smaller than normal, the tavern owner charged her for every meal so she tried to avoid eating until she absolutely had too. The self inflicted starvation left her weak and tired, dull mint green eyes watched the crowd waiting for the right person, she needed to find a pirate captain willing to take her aboard their ship. She had been trapped here in this horrible place for almost a year longing for escape even if it meant danger on the high seas or death at the hands of others.

Illiana strolled into The Boar and Charter tavern, affectionately nicknamed 'The Whore and Garter by its regulars. She swept her hat off and unbuttoned Stripes old jacket. Her new short breeches and tight black shirt with a vibrant red ribbons at the sleeves made her look quite the dashing pirate captain. She was tanned from her time at sea and her movements were full of authority and confidence. Her wavy red hair was tucked under her three pointed hat so only a few strands fell down her face adding depth to her deep green eyes.

She was here for a special type of whiskey that only they sold that was the only reason she would come to a tavern with this sort of bade reputation, she may have been a pirate but she still had some class. Her days being trapped in a place like that were still fresh in her mind making her shudder as she looked around. But she was Irish and whiskey was her passion

The tavern was filled with the usual assortment of drunks, sailors, whores, and commoners. An old man missing his right eye gave her a saucy wink with his good eye and made obscene gestures by putting his tongue through his broken teeth. She flipped him off and headed towards the bar yelling

“bloody ell was a body got ter do ter get some service in this shite ole o a tavern?” she wanted to get out of there as quick as possible before her patience completely evaporated and she hit or shot someone. Her tolerance for dirty old men died a long time ago when she worked at a tavern similar to this one, they would always pinch her bum or stare at her chest much to the amusement of her master the tavern owner.

She looked around again for someone who worked at the tavern and her eyes caught a glimpse of a girl in the back, she was walking with a limp and had a large bruise over her right eye. “poor dear” Illiana murmered slowly approaching her, she dearly hoped this girl wasn’t stuck in the same situation that she had been but somehow she knew that to be the truth.

the girl looked up as Illiana entered and was immediately awed by her presence "c-can I help you with anything miss?" she asked in a quiet voice, the power of the female captain’s personality left her shaking. It was like nothing she had ever felt before: confidant and powerful without even a hint of threat in it.

"Hello love," Illiana said "Can I gets a glass o' yer finest fire whiskey?" she smiled trying to put the nervous girl at ease, the girl’s bruise was painfully obvious on her pale face. It started at the top of her forehead and went all the way down to her jaw.

"yes m'am that'll cost I think 5 shillings" the girl went behind the bar and put her apron on, she dug around under the counter. she pulled out a short wide glass and filled it half full of the whiskey "do you need anything else madam?"

Illiana shook her head and sipped the whiskey looking the girl over “I knows whats goin on wit ye lass, the same thin appened ter me, ye don ave ter take ye ye know ye kin run. No one deserves ter be made into a slave” she heard a thud but paid no attention too it she was too bust studying the girl’s face.

the girl was shaking under Illiana's hand, the reason why became apparent as a man came from behind her and slammed her face into the counter nearly spilling the bottle of whiskey. “oi I thoug I tol ye not ter get ahin th bar the man slammed her head again and let her go. He was a huge man nearly 7 feet tall and heavily muscled like a sailor ought to be, he was getting a bit of a beer gut from drinking but his arms were still toned.

"I'm sorry sir there was a customer" she scrambled to stop the blood that was flowing from her nose like a red river, she would get in more trouble if she made a mess on the bar.

The tavern owner blinked for a minute before he hit her across the face in a blow that rocked her head back “don you dare talk back ter me I owns ye now get back ter sweepin”. he would not tolerate being talked back too by a piece of his property.

"yes sir" she mumbled getting her broom she knew there would be hell to pay once the tavern closed, it was stupid to talk back to him it only made the beatings worse, usually he just used his hand but she could see him eyeing the whip.

Illiana was on her feet in a second. "Oi! Who does yeh think yeh are?!?" She knocked the man across the face and picked the girl up to her feet

the man glared at Illiana “what I does ter me property aint no concern o yers pirate, now slag off afore I calls th watch” the girl pulled away from Illiana and went back to work with her head down not wanting to get her in trouble.

"yes sir" she mumbled getting her broom she knew there would be hell to pay once the tavern closed, it was stupid to talk back to him it only made the beatings worse, usually he just used his hand but she could see him eyeing the whip.

Illiana was on her feet in a second. "Oi! Who does yeh think yeh are?!?" She knocked the man across the face and picked the girl up to her feet

the man glared at Illiana “what I does ter me property aint no concern o yers pirate, now slag off afore I calls th watch” the girl pulled away from Illiana and went back to work with her head down not wanting to get her in trouble.

Illiana was livid, she knew this scene too well, this was the life she had had before Grace had saved her life. "Yeh can go head an call the watch. I'm taken 'er outta this pig sty of a slophole" She threw her glass at the man. All eyes were on the fiery female pirate and the tavern owner. Her normally green eyes were flaring purple and she could barley control herself

“iffin ye wants er so bad I'll give er to yer fer 10 gol pieces” the man grinned at Illiana with a greedy glint in his eyes, the girl flinched when he grabbed her arm and drug her over to Illiana but a spark of hope shined in her eyes

Illiana threw the money at him and lead the girl out the door, "Are yeh alright love?"

"yes miss" the girl replied keeping her eyes down, a few strands of shaggy blonde hair fell out from under her bandanna. like the rest of her, her cloths were unwashed and splattered with blood and spilled drinks.

lliana tilted the girl to make her look her in the eyes, "Yer a pretty one, I'll fix yeh up riht"

the girl didn’t fight Illiana's hand she knew her place and the fact that the pirate captain now owned her

"Bu' firs," She held out 10 gold coins to the girl, "Your freedom. Yeh can come wif me, er yeh can go yer way, 'sup trh yer. I ain't gonna force yeh"

"I cant accept this miss" she pushed the coins away "you saved me and I want to go with you" she managed a small smile wincing as her split lip started to bleed again. She was finally going to be able to get away from the tavern and see the world that existed beyond the boundaries of her home town.

"I won't be taken no slaves, yeh come on as me crew or not ah all" Illiana said and handed the girl the coins and taking her by the hand. The girl nodded keeping her eyes low, being the 12th daughter in a family she didn’t have much fight in her what little she had was beaten out of her by the tavern owner. She was cold to the touch another sign of the poor condition she was in.

Illiana took the girl on board and after giving her time for a good scrubbing, gave her some clothes that fit. "Her, this is me favorite dress, yeh can waer it ifn yeh likes" She held out the green dress Grace had given her.

"I cant accept such finery from you miss you have already showed me much kindness" the girl bowed making her dripping white hair fall forward and stick to her face

"There be no need fer the likes o tha' I's no royal. Now come. Sit love" Illiana said, drawing a chair in front of her mirror. She laid the girls hair over her shoulders and began to comb it smooth, "What is your name little one?"

"Lauren miss" her hair was cut down to her chin but it was shaggy and uneven showing it had been done in a hurry

Illiana took a knife from her leg and siad, "First I's not miss. Call me Illiana or capt'n, whic'er yeh prefers" She began to even out the edges of Lauren's hair, "and second, yeh a part of me crew now. Tha means yer family and kind looks after kind. Ya hear?"

"yes captain" Lauren said sitting still so she wouldn’t get cut

"Well, sun see yeh change a bit. Yer family, no need ter be so formal" Illiana finished and bid her stand. Lauren stood up awkwardly, she was tall for her age but seemed to hunch in on herself like a beaten dog the oversized cloths helped add to the illusion of smallness "Come over here love" Illiana said and had her stand next to the wardrobe. "First I needs yeh ter stand up straight" she laughed to herself. Lauren stood to her full height with her hands in the pockets of her trousers. "Tha's be'er" Illiana said, "Now I knows what size yer'r" she bid the girl take off the old raged clothes.

Lauren grudgingly took her cloths off and stood naked before her captain feeling ashamed of her beaten and bruised body. Illiana seeing her discomfort gave her a jacket that came to her knees, "Lemme look 'ere and see wha I can find" she dug through the wardrobe. Lauren put the jacket on feeling a bit more comfortable, she had a pretty muscular build considering she was of noble birth. her back had tell tale whip marks that were still dripping blood in some places. Her face was set it a grim line, standing up fully pulled on the scabs but it was worth it in order to please the one who saved her. Illliana took a pair of plain black breeches and a shirt out of the wardrobe "'Ere love, put the's on." She tossed Lauren the breeches and walked to her drawers and pulled out a corset.

Lauren put the pants on and tied them up, they fit well much to her joy, she wasn’t used to wearing cloths that fit her even when she lived at home. Being the youngest daughter she got all her cloths handed down to her from her older sisters who were much more petite than she was.

Illiana was at her side and showed her the shirt. It was tight fitted in the stomach, but flowed loose with laced up sleeves and bodice. It was laced with red ribbons, "Does yeh like et?"

Lauren shrugged "its better than what I was wearing" still she was skeptical about wearing it, unlike her older sisters she was never into frilly cloths and she figured such things would be impractical for a pirate to wear while at sea.

"Please be careful weth et, twas me mothers" Illiana said tightening the girls corset so the shirt would fit, her hands were gentle seeing that her newest crew member was very jumpy when it came to being touched in an intimate manner.

Lauren shook her head "I cant take it from you if it was your mothers, I'll just wear this until I earn enough to get something better" she started putting on her old shirt she could see from the look on her captain’s face that the shirt had real sentimental value. It was not her place to take such a treasure away from the one who saved her, she wasn’t a thief in any sense of the word.

I's lendin it to yeh, til we can gets yeh some proper ones, please Lauren" Illiana said she could see than this girl had lived a hard life that, was so similar to her own before her dear friend saved her, she hoped that by letting her wear nice cloths again it she would help get her sense of self worth back.

"I'd just ruin it captain" Lauren lowered her head and handed the shirt back to Illiana she was never any good at keeping her cloths nice and she was afraid to risk her captain’s prized shirt. Her father used to beat her when ever she ripped a dress or got even the smallest stain on any of her cloths. He used to always tell her how worthless and ungrateful she was and how she didn’t deserve to ever have nice things, those words rung in her head when she looked at Illiana’s shirt.

"Well, as you captain I order you to wear it" Illiana laughed, she liked this girl, she just needed to open up a little. She could understand why Lauren was wound so tight but she hoped that gentle coaxing would bring the real girl out to replace this subservient one.

Lauren sighed and nodded obediently "yes captain" she mumbled and slipped the shirt on not catching the humor in Illiana's voice. She looked uncomfortable in the shirt and it was too tight in the shoulders and sides even when the lacing was left loose. The tightness around her shoulders made her afraid to lift her arms because the shirt felt like it was about to rip right at the seam.

Illiana laughed and shook her head seeing the look of discomfort on Lauren‘s face. This was going to be a bit more difficult than she originally thought. "Twas a joke luv an it looks to be too small anyhow. Here, lets get it off" she lifted some of the fabric from around the poor girl’s shoulders so she would have room to get her arms out.

Lauren did her best to take the shirt off without ripping it but it was a bit stretched, seeing the stretched fabric her eyes went wide with fear and she tensed as if waiting to be hit. “miss I’m so sorry” her voice sounded choked like someone who was on the verge of tears, the look on her face showed that she was about to cry. Her father’s words kept ringing in her head making her tremble.

'Sall right love, twill be easy nuff to fix" She laid a hand on the girls shoulder after she had put her shirt back on. The girl was so sensitive to any sort of failure it was like she was made of glass and ready to break at any second. "Come, let me show yeh how much differance fitin clothes can make," Illiana slowly lead Lauren to the mirror. "A right beauty ya're" she complemented hoping to put Lauren at ease.

Lauren looked up at the mirror once then looked down shaking her head "my sisters are prettier than me even my father said so". Her sisters all had golden blonde curls and deep sea blue eyes just like her parents, she was always mocked for her white hair her sisters said it made her look like an old crone.

“Yer fathers a fool o a man than, cause yer by far the most beau'iful woman I's e'er seen" Illiana said from behind her, she could see old pain in the girl’s eyes and wondered at its source surely her time at the tavern hadn’t been the only cause. Those dark mint colored eyes pleaded for someone to save them and protect them, Illiana planned to do just that and she cursed the ones who caused the girl such internal torment.

Lauren awoke to the feeling of warm arms wrapped around her, confused she opened her eyes to find herself curled up in bed with Illiana. being a daughter in a big family she was used to sharing a bed with her siblings but sharing with a complete stranger felt different, still the bed was warm and she hadn’t had a good nights sleep since she ran away. It was too early for her to question things that were happening around her so she decided on shrugging it off so she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. A peaceful smile curled around her face as she snuggled into the chest of her red haired captain, Illiana’s arms wrapped around her in return making her snuggle in deeper and get taken away by sleep.

Illiana turned in her sleep, and woke up to see she had an arm around Lauren, she looked around trying to understand how she ended up in bed with the shy girl she saved. She remembered spending most of the night helping the poor wretch she rescued get cleaned and straightened up, the girl actually looked clean now and respectable even with the large bruise on her face. The night cloths Illiana was wearing were a sign that she had planned on going to bed and that it didn’t just happen randomly. Lauren opened her eyes slowly not really wanting to get up she knew that she was safe and that the Irish captain next to her wasn’t going to ravage her while she slept but she still didn’t know how she ended up in bed with her savior. “morning love” the captain said sitting up to get out of bed.

Lauren sat up and looked around trying to remember when exactly she went to bed "I take it you're as confused as I am captain" she was speaking freely for the moment, her confused state made her forget her submitance. She looked almost normal now in her borrowed white shirt and breeches, the corset was giving her some problems but she wasn’t so uncomfortable that she had to stop wearing it. The smell of the bed sheets still filled her nose bringing up warm feeling something the abused girl wasn’t used to experiencing, the only emotion she was familiar with was fear but the feeling in her heart felt safer that and much warmer.

"Aye, tha' I be love" Illiana said, scratching her head, she knew she was starved for affection and really lonely but she didn’t think she was in such a state as to bring an innocent unknowing girl to bed with her. Even though the younger girl was fully dressed the captain felt like the was using her and tainting her innocence by even thinking about touching her. Heat filled her face as she thought about the way the girl buried her head in her chest, how good it felt, desire burned through her body but it was quickly doused by shame at her needs.

"I don’t remember falling asleep, let alone falling asleep in your bed, please forgive me" Lauren was waking up and fear flashed through her mind, she had fallen asleep without permission in the bed of her owner, fear filled her mint colored eyes and bowed then stood still waiting to be struck. She was scared that Illiana was going to throw her out now that she found out she couldn’t obey the rules, she would rather die than return to that hellhole of a tavern with its slave driver owner.

"What yeh appoligizin fer?" Illiana asked hopping up out of bed. "Nothin yeh done wrong.

I's headed to get some grub, yeh comin?" She could see the fear in Lauren’s eyes and wanted to reassure her that everything was ok, her own days of being afraid were still very real in her mind even though they were many years ago, fear never really left you after you lived it for so long. The only thing she could do for now was be patient and keep everything calm, she couldn’t force her strong personality onto the girl even if she was only trying to help her relax, everyone recovered at their own pace if she tried to speed things up she risked damaging the poor girl more.

"yes captain" Lauren followed behind Illiana still nervous, her savior had been very kind to her so far but even the tavern owner was kind to her in the beginning; the abuse didn’t start until after a contract was signed. Her eyes darted around the ship wondering why she hardly ever saw any other people aboard except for the captain in herself, as they got closer to the galley she could hear noises from above deck and understood that the other crew members were working.

Illiana lead the way to the kitchen weaving through the narrow and cluttered hallways of her ship God’s Grace as if they were the widest streets in all the world, she had been on this ship as captain and crew for well over 10 years, she could walk the ship blindfolded if she wanted too. Once they entered the equally cramped kitchen she threw some fresh wood into the iron stove to get it hot and then she grabbed a skillet, the cook was in the pantry peeling potatoes and doing the massive amount of breakfast dishes. Without ceremony she threw some potatoes and onions in a skillet along with eggs, sausage, and ham to make a nice filling breakfast.

Lauren stood off to the side waiting to see what Illiana needed her to do she wasn’t used to people waiting on her and she wanted to feel useful in some small way. Her stomach grumbled as the good smell of food filled her nose, the captain it seemed was familiar in the art of filling up starving crew members. All the ingredients in the skillet were high carb and high fat to get you full fast and keep you full.

"Here," Illiana handed the girl a plate after getting her food made "Me favorite brekfast, enjoy love". Lauren scarffed the food down without even looking at it, she hadn’t had a proper meal in weeks. lliana smiled and handed her another plate as she ate her own, "Hungry?"

"yes captain the tavern owner charged me for meals and I couldn’t afford to eat much" Lauren ate the second plate as quickly as the first starting to finally feel full and content

Sam stood on a dock arguing with the captain of a small fishing boat. "Oi, ye can't tell me yer not gonna let me on yer boat. Ye need some young blood aboard!" She said her arms out to her side, chest shoved out to show what a fine specimen she was.

"Are ye callin' me old boy?" The old captain said glaring at the arrogant boy in front of him, his gray hair shined in the bright dawn light. Thought it was only a few hours past sunrise the captain already smelled like whiskey and was swaying in place.

The smile fell off Sams face and she dropped her arms. "Oh come on now I’m sorry!" she yelled as he pulled off the dock and started away. "I DIDN'T NEED YE ANYWAY YE OLD COD!" Sam yelled out at him. She turned around and kicked the ground, "Well shit. What am I supposed ter do now?" She mumbled sliding her hands into her pockets and looking out at the sea.

Illiana left the ship and walk onto Tourtoga, she was headed to get some rum for her first mate

The sea always calmed her down. Ever since she was a little girl, and she'd first heard stories about pirates and sea monsters, mermaids and Davey Jones she knew that was the life for her.

"Aye lassie ye can't be a pirate!" Her father would say

"Un how come?" Sam would reply hands on hips

"Cause darlin' only men are pirates. Plus ye'll want ter meet ye a nice boy and settle down before ye know it lassie!"

"Boys are icky! And besides pa, ye say i can be whatever i want, and i wants ter be a pirate!" she argued.

He just shook his head and picked her up carrying her back to the house and tickling her. She smiled as she remembered it all. Sam missed her father dearly, and cringed at the thought of the man her mother had remarried. He was the main reason she ran away in the

first place.

"You'll be needin' to go to a finishing school this fall Samantha," he said "No man will ever want to marry a girl like you. You're filthy and you have no manners. It's all been settled, you'll need to start packing your things you leave in two weeks. And don't bother going crying to your mother, it was her idea." he had said to her five days ago.

And here she stood looking out at the sea, smelling the salt and looking for another boat to board.

Illiana saw a boy standing on the dock, "Oi! You boy!" SHe called, tipping her aptian hat down to keep the setting sun out of her face

Sam looked up, "Aye miss how can i be o' service to ye?" she said approaching her.

Iliana alked over to the boy, "Wach' yeh sanden ere all alones fer?"

“Lookin fer work jus like any other person out here miss. I was a sailor before, but my last tour has ended and i find myself free." Sam said looking her in the eye, she's never met a lady captain before and couldn't help but grin like a fool in amazement.

"Well, me boy, seems I's in need o a crew hand. Yeh interested?" Illiana smiled

Sam could hardly contain herself, "Yes miss! I mean, of course twould be my pleasure." And she shook her hand smiling, but trying not to look to excited.

"Come" Illiana said, leading the boy back to the ship. She got to the ship and bade him wait for her above deck for a moment while she went to fetch Lauren

Lauren stayed aboard exploring the ship until she found an old black and white picture in one of the empty bedrooms, she studied the picture wondering who the people in it were. Both of the people in the picture were women and they were dressed in the traditional cloths the showed that they were pirates; one of them was tall with long curls hair she wore a captain hat, the other was shorter with scars on her face and a black and white striped shirt. They had their arms around each other and were smiling happily as if they were in love, next to the picture carved into the wall were the words the love I feel for you Grace is as deep as the sea, I will always remember you- Stripes.

After a bit more exploration the curious nineteen year old went back to Illiana's bedroom carrying the picture with her, she sat on the floor and waited for Illiana to return. The words carved on the wall in that empty bedroom kept ringing in her mind. She wondered for the first time why there wasn’t anyone staying in that room, space seemed tight on the ship and that room seemed to be big enough to fit four sets of bunks.

The confused sailor leaned against the frame of Illiana's bed grateful to be out of the horrible tavern, she had been the owner's property for almost a year and was subject to all manner of abuse by him leaving her fearful of any sort of sudden movement or loud noises. As if on cue a sudden bang echoed in the hallway making her cower in place, her captain burst into the room then stopped seeing the fear on her new crew member’s face. A very scared Lauren looked up as Illiana entered "hello captain" she said her quiet respectful voice

"We have a new crew member love, come and meet him" Iliana said. She smiled to herself when she realized she really did care for Lauren and didn’t want to see her hurt or frightening in anyway. Even if the girl couldn’t love her like she needed at least she could interact with her and make sure she didn’t get left alone too long.

Sam stood on deck not believing her luck, she ran her hand over the banister and smiled as she watched the gentle waves crashing against the side of the boat.

Lauren nodded and followed Illiana, she stayed behind the captain shyly, she was never really good at meeting new people and her imagination went wild trying to picture what the new crew member would look like. The most common image she got was a big drunken man covered in tattoos and missing teeth, they used to frequent the tavern a lot telling stories about killing men and raping their wives. A few of them had tried to have their way with her but the tavern owner protected her, she wasn’t sure if Illiana would be strong enough to keep the men under control.

Illiana smiled at the girls shyness. "Yeh wnt ter be a pirate, yeh gotta be bold girl!" encouraged

“sorry captain I'm just shy around males" Lauren looked down nervously, she dug her hands in the pockets of her trousers

Sam walked over and stuck out her hand, "Names Sam pleasure to meet ye lass!" she smiled seeing how shy Lauren was, for some reason she thought the way the other girl hid behind the captain was down right adorable.

Lauren tentatively took Sam's hand "I'm Lauren" she never looked up from the wood of the deck

Illiana smiled, "Yer sapposda lok em in the eyes when yeh say 'ello" she laughed, the girl was too shy for her own good.

Sam leaned i to hear her better, "Lauren is it? Well lauren looks like we'll be gettin ter know each other real well here soon, being ship mates an all!" She grinned looking at her wanting to put her mind at ease, she was a naturally friendly person and she hoped her charms would win this shy girl over.

Lauren stood up straighter and tried to look Sam in the face like the captain asked, she couldn’t make herself give eye contact instead focusing on Sam's chin

Illiana smiled, "Sam, yeh will be bunkin with Lauren if she don object, we ain't got the room ter put yeh anywheres else"

"yes captain" Lauren said trying to hide her fear of sharing a room with a strange guy, it was still better than being stuck at that horrible tavern. She trusted Illiana to protect her from Sam if he ever tried anything but the boy just didn’t seem like the type that would cause her harm.

"I'm alright with it, is that ok ye lass?" Sam said looking at her, she didn't want to make her uncomfortable. At the same time she was trying to figure out how long she could keep her secret safe, living so close with another girl.

"I will do what my captain asks of me" Lauren replied to Sam's question with her quiet voice.

"Nah," Illiana said, "If yeh wants 'im to bunk somewhere else, I can bunk with yeh and he can 'ave me bunk" The captain smiled, she wanted Lauren to be comfortable until she got settled down.

"I cant kick you out of your bed captain" Lauren said shocked by the very idea of doing such a thing

"I'll be fine no matter what, i'm the new guy so put me where ever I’ll survive!" She threw back her head and laughed deeply.

Lauren noticed something strange about the way Sam laughed and the movement of his chest when he did, a secretive smile flashed across her face for a brief second then was quickly replaced by her usual empty mask she suddenly felt a lot less threatened by her new bunk mate and that gave her a bit more confidence.

"Aye well, here be the options." Illiana said, putting on a show of being a firm captain, "Sam and Lauren, Me and Lauren, Me and Sam. Pick".

"I will share a room with him captain, it would be wrong of me to kick you out of your own bed. You trust this new boy and after everything you‘ve done for me the least I can do is trust your judgment" Lauren managed to make eye contact with Sam finally

Sam was oblivious to Lauren’s discovery and began to walk below to look a the rest of the ship. She was awed by the size of the vessel and the fact that its captain was a woman, everything her father said before had been proven wrong in an instant. Not only can girls be pirates they could also be pirate captains.

lliana smiled, she was sure Sam had no idea she knew. She laughed, if she grew her hair out, Sam would be a very pretty girl.

Lauren stood quietly behind Illiana waiting to be shown her room

Sam looked around and smiled at the idea of constant companionship and the open seas, she couldn't ask for anything more. Illiana showed the two their room, it was a plain room with nothing but a bunk bed and two wooded boxes for sailors to store their belongings.

Lauren climbed into the top bunk of the rickety bunk bed effectively claiming the bed as hers while Illiana stood in the doorway to make sure that the two of them wouldn’t start fighting. She knew Sam could really hurt the timid Lauren and was there to make sure such a thing never occurred.

Sam looked over at Illiana for a second them looked up at Lauren, "Yeah ye can have top bunk. I's got bad luck with fallin' out on me head as is." And she climbed into the bottom bunk with a long winded sigh.

Lauren hid under her blankets as a violent storm shook the ship, thunder scared the piss out of her because her sisters decided to lock her out during a storm when she was 3, she looked down at Sam "Sam, I'm scared can I climb into bed with you?"

Sam panicked for a moment worried that Lauren might discover her secret but hearing the fear in her shipmate‘s voice nearly brought tears to her eyes. She opened her mouth to say no, but then said "yeah of course ye can." and she slid over lifting up her blanket so that Lauren could climb under.

Lauren scrambled down the bunk and crawled into bed with Sam, she was shaking with fear and screamed when another loud rumble of thunder shook the ship.

Sam wrapped her arms around Lauren awkwardly, trying to calm down her shaking saying "shhh, tis ok luv, it'll be alright just a storm nothin ter be afraid of."

Lauren calmed down a little bit and pressed herself into Sam "I'm sorry its just thunder really gets to me" she sounded embarrassed and ashamed of her fear

Sam smiled " Everyone’s got their fears. Mines fire...i know that sounds silly but it be the truth." she added, her face going blank as she recalled the fire that claimed her fathers life all those years ago.

Lauren nodded and closed her eyes listening t the sound of Sam's heart beat, it was a soothing rhythm that helped to calm her fears and relax her

Sam realized that Laurens head was on her breast, she had to know by now that she was a girl. And since she hadn't reacted badly Sam just sighed and held her smelling her hair and closing her eyes.

Lauren smiled a little bit "I've known ever since you laughed, your voice wasnt deep enough and I could see your chest moving, I think the captain knows too but I doubt she'll care" she put her arm around Sam's waist and rested her head in the curve of the girl's neck

"Well in that case i suppose there's nothing i can do about it. But when we go ashore i'd like people to think I’s a boy if'n that's ok by you two. It makes things a bit easier." Sam sighed as she turned to face this girl and looked into her eyes for the first time. She got this weird feeling and she didn't quite know what to make of it. So she looked away nervously and just hugged Lauren tighter to her.

"that’s ok by me" Lauren yawned and snuggled into Sam not hearing the thunder anymore, she knew it was still going on but in the safety of the other girl’s arm storms didn’t seem as scary anymore. Sam yawned in returned and started to drift off to sleep smiling contently to herself.

Illiana tossed and turned, nightmares of her tavern days playing in her mind brief images flashed across her mind followed by feelings of pain and hopelessness. No real memory planted itself for a long time until finally one came to the surface, the memory of the first time she was used.

Finally she woke and went up on deck, hoping to shake the memories away she climbed into the rigging and looked out at the churning gray water of mother sea.