Honeysuckleee
Experienced
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2006
- Posts
- 37
It was dark, very dark, the only light was the glance of the moon off the smooth surface of the water, the moon and the surrounding stars. To Dana, that was plenty of light. She enjoyed this time of night most of all, when most of the crew slept. It was quiet, cool, serene. The sound of the water lightly slapping against the hull of the ship, the gentle coo of the breeze as it whispers across the body of the ship.
Dana was born on the water, her father, at the time, nothing more than an *gopher* under the Captain and crew. Her mother, was the Captain's daughter. He, the Captain that is, was not happy with the union of his lovely daughter with the darker skinned man, who was no more than the ship servent, yet his headstrong daughter was in love, and would not be, disueded from that love. They married, on the ship. They lived, worked, everything, on the ship. She gave birth on the ship, at sea.
A ship, on the open ocean, was all Dana Brownell knew. Her mother, again, the Captain's daughter, died early on in her young life. The circumstances surrounding her falling overboard were still suspect. Perhaps the truth would never be known. Dana was only 3 at the time, and it was she that had alerted the crew that dark, fateful night. Her screams could have awakened the dead, as she stood there, staring into the water, the dark, black, unforgiving water. Her mother, was gone. Her body never found. Her Father was devestated. He never understood what could have happened.
Did she jump? No, she never would have left her precious Dana. She lived for her daughter
Did she slip?
Was she pushed?
That was 15 years ago, and even now, Dana's father still wondered. But, He had Dana to live for. And it was Dana He focused on. Once his Father-in-law, the Captain died, Derek Brownell moved on from that ship, where all the memories, all the hauntings, all the shadows, tormented him. He found work on the Dolphin Wind, a large sailing ship that took both slaves and cargo across the great seas and oceans, to new worlds beyond. Derek liked this ship, he was hired as first mate, quite the promotion from his position on his father-in-law's ship, and as such had quite the nice cabin. The ship took almost exclusively southern routes, so the weather would be considerably better than the northern cargo and whaling routes. He would have preferred a strictly passenger ship, with a mingling of women and kids for Dana to interact with, but that was not to be. This was the best her father could get, and the slaves, all male, would not dare to touch or harrass his daughter, and the crew accepted her as if she were their own child. She was safe here, it was here that Dana made her home as her father worked.
She had grown, yet still retained her *tom boy* qualities. She learned early to keep her hair relatively short and out of the way, never letting the deep chocolate brown mane get longer than the back of her neck. Her eyes were that same chocolate color, deep brown and beautiful to look at. Her skin was a mingling of her mother's pale skin and her father's much darker. She was an exotic beauty, even if she did not think so herself. She wore no makeup, and her clothing consisted strictly of ship wear. No dresses or skirts for her. She lived in the same things her father and the other crew wore, trousers and shirts. Many thought, when she was not facing them full on, that she were just a young boy of the crew.
At 18, she was all female, but her clothing tended to hide that small fact, and that, would save her life this coming night.
The attack came out of no where. The pirate ship had snuck up on the larger, slower ship, stalking, and attacking as the moon set and the night was at it's darkest. Dana had only just gone to bed, after enjoying the quiet of the night up on deck, and fallen asleep, when the alarm bells rang, and the shouting began. Her father burst into her cabin, which was right next to his. He was bleeding, badly, from a wound at the back of his shoulder. Whatever was happening, it was happening fast.
"Dana, listen to me. Pirates have attacked, and caught us offguard. All these years of sailing with no incidents made us weak. The Captain is already dead. The crew is overwhelmed and the slaves in the hold are terrified. If they find you" He paused, the thought making him sick. If the pirates got their hands on her, she being young, virginal, and beautiful, she would be raped viciously by the whole of the crew, a thought that made him go pale.
"Dana, listen, the Pirates can not find out your female. Take these" He handing her a sampling of clothes that he had snatched from the ship's laundry. "Find something that fits and that is more masculine than even what you are used to. Keep your voice low, your body hidden and go by the name of Dane. Do NOT let them find out your female. As soon as you can, get off the ship, pirates have to come to shore for supplies every so often. Just run. I will find you, I promise" He knew that pirates spared the young males of the ships they catpured. They made good slave labor, or were sold as slaves. At least she would survive to escape, he hoped
Dana was scared to death, but she was not stupid. She knew what would happen to her if the Pirates got a hold of her, she had heard the *tales* from many of the crew. Dana nodded to her father's words. But, before she could say anything more, or help him with his wound, he was gone, locking the door behind him and running, luring any nearby maurauders away from her cabin and keeping them away for as long as he could, while Dane/Dana got in disguise.
Dana was born on the water, her father, at the time, nothing more than an *gopher* under the Captain and crew. Her mother, was the Captain's daughter. He, the Captain that is, was not happy with the union of his lovely daughter with the darker skinned man, who was no more than the ship servent, yet his headstrong daughter was in love, and would not be, disueded from that love. They married, on the ship. They lived, worked, everything, on the ship. She gave birth on the ship, at sea.
A ship, on the open ocean, was all Dana Brownell knew. Her mother, again, the Captain's daughter, died early on in her young life. The circumstances surrounding her falling overboard were still suspect. Perhaps the truth would never be known. Dana was only 3 at the time, and it was she that had alerted the crew that dark, fateful night. Her screams could have awakened the dead, as she stood there, staring into the water, the dark, black, unforgiving water. Her mother, was gone. Her body never found. Her Father was devestated. He never understood what could have happened.
Did she jump? No, she never would have left her precious Dana. She lived for her daughter
Did she slip?
Was she pushed?
That was 15 years ago, and even now, Dana's father still wondered. But, He had Dana to live for. And it was Dana He focused on. Once his Father-in-law, the Captain died, Derek Brownell moved on from that ship, where all the memories, all the hauntings, all the shadows, tormented him. He found work on the Dolphin Wind, a large sailing ship that took both slaves and cargo across the great seas and oceans, to new worlds beyond. Derek liked this ship, he was hired as first mate, quite the promotion from his position on his father-in-law's ship, and as such had quite the nice cabin. The ship took almost exclusively southern routes, so the weather would be considerably better than the northern cargo and whaling routes. He would have preferred a strictly passenger ship, with a mingling of women and kids for Dana to interact with, but that was not to be. This was the best her father could get, and the slaves, all male, would not dare to touch or harrass his daughter, and the crew accepted her as if she were their own child. She was safe here, it was here that Dana made her home as her father worked.
She had grown, yet still retained her *tom boy* qualities. She learned early to keep her hair relatively short and out of the way, never letting the deep chocolate brown mane get longer than the back of her neck. Her eyes were that same chocolate color, deep brown and beautiful to look at. Her skin was a mingling of her mother's pale skin and her father's much darker. She was an exotic beauty, even if she did not think so herself. She wore no makeup, and her clothing consisted strictly of ship wear. No dresses or skirts for her. She lived in the same things her father and the other crew wore, trousers and shirts. Many thought, when she was not facing them full on, that she were just a young boy of the crew.
At 18, she was all female, but her clothing tended to hide that small fact, and that, would save her life this coming night.
The attack came out of no where. The pirate ship had snuck up on the larger, slower ship, stalking, and attacking as the moon set and the night was at it's darkest. Dana had only just gone to bed, after enjoying the quiet of the night up on deck, and fallen asleep, when the alarm bells rang, and the shouting began. Her father burst into her cabin, which was right next to his. He was bleeding, badly, from a wound at the back of his shoulder. Whatever was happening, it was happening fast.
"Dana, listen to me. Pirates have attacked, and caught us offguard. All these years of sailing with no incidents made us weak. The Captain is already dead. The crew is overwhelmed and the slaves in the hold are terrified. If they find you" He paused, the thought making him sick. If the pirates got their hands on her, she being young, virginal, and beautiful, she would be raped viciously by the whole of the crew, a thought that made him go pale.
"Dana, listen, the Pirates can not find out your female. Take these" He handing her a sampling of clothes that he had snatched from the ship's laundry. "Find something that fits and that is more masculine than even what you are used to. Keep your voice low, your body hidden and go by the name of Dane. Do NOT let them find out your female. As soon as you can, get off the ship, pirates have to come to shore for supplies every so often. Just run. I will find you, I promise" He knew that pirates spared the young males of the ships they catpured. They made good slave labor, or were sold as slaves. At least she would survive to escape, he hoped
Dana was scared to death, but she was not stupid. She knew what would happen to her if the Pirates got a hold of her, she had heard the *tales* from many of the crew. Dana nodded to her father's words. But, before she could say anything more, or help him with his wound, he was gone, locking the door behind him and running, luring any nearby maurauders away from her cabin and keeping them away for as long as he could, while Dane/Dana got in disguise.
Last edited: