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.