The ship was sinking.

As chaos ensued around her, she couldn't help but think back to the day before her journey began;

 "Not the biggest o'vessels but she's swift 'n sturdy."

Shouts rang out from all directions as the ship was tossed around like a bath toy by waves that crashed mercilessly against its hull and deck. The screams of the unlucky souls that were swept overboard could barely be heard over the roaring of thunder and the angry sea.

 "More than a'nuff ta get ya where ya needin ta go, 'n safely at that-"

Below the chaos that reigned above, the sharp, wet sounds of feet slapping against water soaked wood floors mixed with the panicked shouts of crew members calling for buckets and seals. Bailing out the incoming tide would prove pointless. In spite of their efforts, running and walking soon turned to wading as the rising sea water first pooled around their ankles.... then their shins... then their knees...

"Freshly pitched so ya needn't be worryn bout trouble wit leaks."

She had just barely managed to hitch up her skirts and tie them tightly together before the ship lurched horribly to one side, throwing her forward into the railing of the stairs that led up to the heart of the storm. Her arms wrapped around the painted wood in a desperate attempt to keep herself steady admist the violent rocking that was already turning the cargo hold into a small wave pool. Cold seawater rushed back and forth around her hips, sweeping up people and flotsam and smashing them against the ship's interior. She glanced up the open stairway and immediately recoiled from the pelting rain and hail... but the only way to go as the water rose to her waist, was up.

Up she went, leaving the flooded hold and it's victims to its inevitable fate. The railing provided some measure of support, but the constant tossing of the ship from side to side made it harder and harder to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged. On the last step up, she was slammed into the door frame so hard that they were thrown out of her suddenly, surprising her as it dribbled down her face and chest. She sank to her knees, clinging to the frame.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Wouldn't be surprised if ya get there ahead a schedule. She got a record fer that."

There was a flash of light that cut through the darkness, illuminating the world around her for a fraction of a second before she heard a loud crack. The only indication that the sound wasn't just a violent lightning strike was the sound that followed shortly after. A low, steady groan decorated with a series of rapid pops filled the air like a dreadful, sad song as the top half of the center mast tipped over and slammed into itself with a crash that rumbled through the deck.

More shouts. More screams. Lanterns flickered and failed and what little light there had been to guide their feverish attempts to survive was snuffed out. It was pitch black save for the occasional flash of lightning that lit up their demise in short bursts, allowing them visions of their collective end. The screams never ceased.

"Clear skies 'n smooth sailing," he'd said to them all with a grin. The prick.

And this was how she was going to die. Shivering and terrfiied. With soaked skirts tied around her waist and vomit on her chin and hands. Her life should have been flashing before her eyes as the angels called down at her, but all she could muster was hatred of the man who stuck her on this ship and sealed her fate.

 Somehow and someway, if she survived, which she most assuredly would not, she vowed to send Ashbury's port of authority the strongest worded letter she'd ever sent in her life.