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Minerva

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Minerva woke up from the best sleep she had had in a long time. Soon after waking up however she panicked.

What had she been thinking?! She had just followed some suspicious girl onto a ship without even asking her name or what kind of ship it was?

Taking a look out of the window didn’t help her much. It was already bright daylight and she could see nothing but water. Still panicking, she stormed out of the hanging bed and out of the cabin.

She recognized the small hallway under the quarterdeck she came in from. She found a door which she thought should be the captain’s quarters and knocked on it. There was no response however.

When she tried the door she found it wasn’t locked. She went inside and she found a roomy cabin with big windows. She ran to the windows and nearly fainted at what she saw. The ship was no longer docked. She could still see land in the far distance, but they were definitely in open water.

She stumbled to a chair and sat down, her heart pounding in her chest. Had she been kidnapped? Was it a ruse of Marcus’s men? To lead her onto a ship and take her somewhere she would never be found? The thought was horrifying.

She took a moment to compose herself. Whether or not she had been kidnapped, nothing would be gained by wallowing in despair in this cabin. So she set out to find the captain of the ship, talking to him should clear things up, one way or another.

She left the cabin and made her way through the cramped hallway towards the deck of the ship. With a ship of this size she would have expected there to be a sizable crew there working the ropes, and sails, and whatever else it is they do on a ship like this to keep it moving in the right direction. But when she arrived on the main deck she saw… nothing.

The sails were filled with wind, the ship was quite obviously moving with quite some speed but there didn’t seem to be anyone on it, not a living soul to be seen. This made no sense.

Minerva carefully made her way to the prow along the edge of the ship. She confirmed that the ship had definitely left port some time ago. The water spread out for miles in every direction. Wherever she was, she was well and truly stuck.

Even when she walked the whole length of the ship she couldn’t find any sign of anyone that was actually sailing the ship, though things were moving.

All sorts of ropes got tightened or loosened apparently all on their own. It was unnerving, but she decided not to investigate closer for now and to continue looking for someone she could talk to. However, there was no one to be found on the deck, though not long after she reached the end she heard an angry shout from behind her.

“Miss, would you kindly explain to me what the devil you are doing on my ship?!”

Minerva startled and quickly turned around to look in the direction of the voice. Approximately midships she could see a young man around her age glaring at her. It looked like he had just come up from below decks. His sudden appearance and angry glare had frightened Minerva. But she also realized that if he didn’t know why she was on ‘his’ ship then he was not likely be one of Marcus’s men and that meant she probably wasn’t kidnapped.

“…I am sorry for stowing away on the ship sir! I didn’t mean to! A young lady led me to believe I would be welcome to stay on your ship for a night!” Minerva shouted back. The distance and wind made sure that speaking softly wouldn’t be possible. But luckily the man seemed reasonable. The anger disappeared from his expression and it was replaced with puzzled curiosity.

“A young lady you say?! Well, I suppose we better discuss it in my cabin! Please join me miss!” He shouted as he gestured towards the entrance below the quarterdeck. Thinking she probably didn’t have much of a choice Minerva slowly made her way back there. When she came within normal speaking distance of the young man he opened the door for her whilst introducing himself.

“Welcome aboard The Journeyman miss. The name is Captain Alex Azarus and I have the pleasure of commanding this vessel. How may I address you?” He asked. Minerva was surprised such a young man was the captain of a ship like this but he asked a good question. Minerva had to consider it for a bit.

Should she give her full name and title? The man, so far, seemed polite enough, if a bit rough. But she wasn’t sure whether she should trust him with the whole story. She decided to stay incognito for now.

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“A pleasure to meet you Captain Azarus. My name is Minerva.” She said. The Captain seemed satisfied for now. He nodded and led Minerva back towards the big cabin she had barged into earlier.

When they entered Captain Azarus walked up to his wardrobe and took out a sizable coat. With badly hidden awkwardness he held it up towards Minerva “Can I offer you a coat miss? Your current attire seems like it would be…. Chilly.” He said.

It was then that Minerva acutely realized that she was still wearing her nightgown. The chase of the night before made sure she had no time to think about it. And the panic of waking up on a ship that had already set sail and the sheer oddness of the situation had stopped her from realizing it earlier. She took the coat faster than was probably polite but given the circumstances neither of them minded. “Thank you, captain. I appreciate it.” She said somewhat awkwardly. Captain Azarus nodded and indicated a table and some chairs

“Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea?” the captain offered. They sat down and the captain poured them some tea from a kettle that was already placed on the table. Minerva took a sip, the tea wasn’t bad and she could use something to drink after the ordeal so she was grateful for it. But she also vaguely realized that she was pretty sure the kettle hadn’t been there before and that even if it was, the tea should’ve already cooled down by now.

But the questions would have to wait because for now she was still ‘the stowaway’ and the Captain was keen on asking his question first. “So miss. How did you come to find yourself on my ship?” He asked with a stern look on his face.

Minerva mostly told him the truth. That bad guys interrupted her sleep and that she escaped towards the harbor. She left out the fact that she was a princess and that the men were sent by her brother but the captain didn’t really seem to worry about the reason WHY she was assaulted in the night. He became much more interested however, when the story turned towards the young lady that had guided Minerva onto the ship.

When Minerva finished describing the event he started nodding knowingly. “Her hair and dress, were they blueish or greenish?” He asked. Minerva was somewhat surprised at the question. The dress could well have been such a color. It had been dark and she could really only say that they were some darker shade of a color. But how could her hair have been blue or green?

She shook her head “I honestly can’t tell you. It was dark. They may have been. Do you know her?” Minerva asked. The captain nodded

“It was probably Lydia. It would explain some things. Like how you were able to get on board without us noticing for one.” The captain pondered out loud. Minerva was about to ask some of the many questions she had when the captain continued. “Well, if Lydia invited you that means you are a guest and you should benefit from our full hospitality. I apologize for any rude behaviour miss. Also, you are free to use Lydia’s cabin for as long as you are with us. If she is the one who invited you I’m sure she won’t mind.” He said.

Lydia was now one of the many things Minerva was curious about. She had her own cabin on the ship? “So who is Lydia? Is she your employer? Your betrothed?” Minerva asked. The captain seemed to think it was a difficult question. “Both?” He said uncertainly. “Neither? It seems to change with the days…”

He seemed lost in contemplation for a bit. But he shook out of it quickly enough. “I am sure you have many questions. But I would be a terrible host if I left my guest shivering in her nightwear after going through such an ordeal. I suggest you take some time to get proper and we continue talking afterwards over some breakfast. Let me show you your cabin.” He said, finishing his tea quickly and standing up to show Minerva the way.

Minerva also finished her tea quickly thinking that Captain Azarus definitely wasn’t born in high society if he didn’t give his guests the time to finish their tea properly. But all things considered Minerva couldn’t complain. And she certainly wouldn’t mind getting dressed and having some breakfast.

Captain Azarus led the way back to the cabin Minerva had first woken up in. It made sense that this Lydia would have led Minerva there if it was her cabin. When they entered the captain spoke, “You can use this cabin. The bed is comfortable enough, I hope. Though I am afraid that lady’s clothes are in short supply on this ship. If it proves necessary I can have some of my own clothes sent along shortly…” The captain hesitated as if considering other possibilities.

Minerva pointed out the wardrobe in the room. “Wouldn’t Lydia have some spare clothes here? She seemed to be about as tall as me, I’m sure her clothes will fit.” She said. The captain smiled a wry smile at that. “I’m afraid Lydia doesn’t keep her clothes on board. This wardrobe serves another purpose.” He said as he moved to the wardrobe and opened it.

Minerva saw that there were indeed no clothes in there. But it wasn’t empty either. There was some sort of shrine inside. She recognized it as a general worship shrine with symbols for most of the gods present. Though, probably common for ships, the symbol of the Goddess of the Sea was most prominently displayed. Perhaps this room served as something of a chapel if Lydia wasn’t on board? It seemed rather small for that, but then again, ships didn’t have much space to begin with.

After showing her the shrine the captain continued talking. He didn’t seem to be addressing Minerva though. “But it is true that you are her guest as well.” He said and he properly turned to the shrine. “Lydia, you invited her. The least you could do is lend her some clothes.” He said, obviously addressing the shrine.

Minerva raised her eyebrows at that. Him addressing the shrine when he said that would mean… Before she could finish the thought a familiar voice came from behind her.

“I suppose I do owe her that much. I should have some old dresses lying around she can borrow.” Minerva turned around and the girl she met on the docks was standing there with a big smile on her face. In the light of day it became obvious that her hair was indeed a shade of something in between blue and green.

Minerva was stunned. Captain Azarus seemed used to it though “Hey Lydia. Minerva, meet Lydia, better known as the Goddess of the Sea.”