Chapter Text
Help wanted. The ship LaFerry is seeking dedicated crew members for an extended shipping voyage. Only requirements are a good work ethic and a willingness to learn. Seek out Captain Lafontaine or First Mate Perry at the docks for further information…
Laura Hollis shoved the yellowed and already crumpled and torn paper back into the cloth sack she carried with her. She gathered her cloak in an attempt to block out the brisk sea breeze. As she approached the city docks the crowds grew thicker until she could hardly walk without risking being trampled. She took a sharp right turn towards the more shall we say colorful section of the docks. Laura continued walking, searching for the ship that was hastily drawn on the parchment.
Her father; the Baron Hollis, had always been far too protective of Laura. She had spent nearly her entire life at a small seaside estate just a few miles out of town. Her mother had died when she was just two years old. Ever since then she has spent most of her time here. Her father visited frequently but he was always busy. And so Laura had been mainly left to the care of tutors, governesses and a large group of guards. Laura loved to read. Her mother had always loved books as well and had amassed an extensive collection of books from endless genres. Laura spent hour’s locked away turning page after yellowed page, only stopping to trace her fingers over the eloquently scrawled notes in the margins of some books. These were always her favorites. Tales of adventures, dashing pirates, daring heroes and the adventure of a lifetime. And yet it always felt so far away. After all she had barely even left the estate in twenty years. And so one day she snuck away, dressed in borrowed clothes with nothing but a cloth sack, a wrinkled flyer, and a dream.
Eventually (and after many wrong turns.) Laura found herself at the right dock. The ship LaFerry was not exactly large and certainly had seen better days. The sail had been patched so many times that it was no longer possible to tell what the sail originally looked like. The ship’s name was painted on the side in what looked like a child’s hand writing. A redheaded girl with curls flying every which way was seated on a chair writing in a journal while another much taller redhead was loading crates onto the ship. Taking in a deep breath Laura took one step and then another until she had finally reached the end of the dock. “Excuse me, I was told this was the place to apply for employment onboard the LaFerry?”
The curly haired girl looked up from the journal and looked Laura up and down. “You’re hired! Let me show you where you’ll be living. You’ll probably not want to wear a dress. We leave port today so you’ll be learning on the fly, Danny and Kirsch will show you the ropes.”
The girl- Perry as Laura soon learned, continued to babble on as she escorted Laura below deck. Eventually they came to a large room with a long table and benches as well several hammocks that were mostly put up. One however was occupied by a large snoring lump of blankets. “Kirsch you were supposed to be on deck an hour ago to help with loading!” Perry shouted. As she passed by she pushed on the hammock nearly knocking the no longer snoring boy from the hammock.
“Don’t mind him too much. He can be…challenging, but he’s also one of the best deckhands we have.” She said once again talking to the by now very confused Laura. She showed her to a hammock and a nearby cupboard. “This is where you’ll be staying, I know it’s not exactly a feather bed but…”
“It’s wonderful. Thank you very much.” Laura interrupted.
“Oh it’s nothing really. And you’ll be wanting to change into a pair of trousers. There’s a room just over there.” She said gesturing towards a door at the end of the room.
“Trousers? I don’t have any actually.” Laura replied.
“Oh well that is easily fixed…Just give me a minute here.” The redhead began opening and closing cabinets until she eventually pulled out a slightly worn pair of navy blue trousers. “These should be just about the right size.”
Laura eventually made it back up to the deck where she was almost immediately handed a box. “Hey could you hold on to these? The Captain ordered them before we got to port and they really can’t get mixed up with the other boxes.” Danny asked.
“Oh…um, sure. Is it okay if I hang out up here? I don’t want to be in the way…”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This boat is as much your home as it is for any of us…for all of us. You are welcome to be on deck whenever you wish. Besides you’ll be helping on deck soon enough.”
Laura spent the next few hours on deck. She soon found herself laughing and joking with Danny and Kirsch until it seemed they had known each other for ages. Danny was the youngest of seven. She had been a navy officer until she left for a reason she did not go into detail on. Kirsch was the eldest of four and grew up on a farm. He sends money to his family whenever he got paid. The captain arrived with another girl named Betty following close behind her arms overfull of boxes, bags and other odds and ends. Perry quickly went to help the girl with the boxes while the Captain greeted Laura. “Sup? You must be our newest crew member. Welcome aboard.”
What followed was a flurry of activity until the anchor was finally lifted and the sails catching the ocean breeze. Heading out into the endless blue Laura could already tell this was the beginning of a great adventure.