Chapter 2

            Travis walks up the sloped path that led onto the ship and meets someone, speaking to them like they were old friends though they were dressed very differently. The man is tall, in a white uniform with dark hair. The man nods and hurries away. I rush to follow him and catch up with him.

            “Hey Travis, I have a question.” I step onto the deck of the ship, taking in how much larger it is when you are on it. When I was in the coach, it looked big but I didn’t think it was THIS big. The deck is large enough to fit two mansions on and, when you look, the masts loom over you like towers.

            “Yes, Mi… Maria. What is the question?” Though it pains him, he stops himself from calling me Miss.

            “Do you know who was in the coach that came and received me last night? He called me his love.” I explained to him, causing him to tense.

            “That would be the captain. He was sent to pick you up. The ‘my love’ is unexplained. If I were you, though, I would try to stay away from him for awhile.” The warning edge in his voice is difficult to decipher, making him sound as if he is actually taking his protection job seriously. A boy in ragged clothing comes and hands a pile of perfectly folded sailor clothes to Travis.

            “‘Ere you go, Sir. T’e togs you asked fer.” A young boy says. I believe he is a ship’s boy but I am not too sure about the ship’s social statuses yet. By the looks of him, he can’t be more than six years of age.

            “Thank you, Joshy. Here is the farthing and penny I promised you. Thanks for having it nicely folded for me.” He is so kind! The little boy scampers off, a big grin on his dirtied face, due to the money I guess.

            “He seemed happy to get the money. He’s a ship’s boy, correct?” I point out the obvious, something that I do very often.

            “Yes, he is a ship’s boy. And he won’t have the money for long. Joshy is a good boy but not very smart. He will probably go and gamble it away with some able-rated seaman.” I look into his eyes, sadness shining bright in them. His voice was even a little bit shaky at the thought that the boy won’t be able to keep the money very long.

            “I’m sorry… So, where am I to change?” I ask, no sympathy in my voice because I feel it is not necessary.

            “Follow me. You can change in the midshipmen’s berth because none of the seamen are allowed down there. We are considered a type of officer, kind of the precursor to a higher rank or an officer in training. There are other midshipmen but, considering that I am the senior midshipman, I will just tell them to leave.”

            “What about you?” I ask and, just like earlier, his cheeks turn increasingly red. “You are embarrassed again. What did I do this time?”

            “Nothing.” He says in a way to answer the second question. I look into his eyes, questioning him, and his cheeks begin to redden. As I look into his big, charming, brown eyes, he continues to grow a deeper shade of red. “And of course, Maria, I will leave the room for it is not appropriate for me to stay in the room unless we were engaged.” With the small mention of an engagement, his cheeks flame to the color of a blood red fire.

            “All right, Mr. Gallant Midshipman, show me the way to the jolly midshipmen’s berth. Then, if you could be so kind as to bring me to the dining hall for I am mighty hungry.” I once again speak in the poor, helpless girl sound in my voice and bat my eyelashes, attempting to convince him to do as I say.

            “Maria, I would be honored if you would join us for dinner. I will send one of the younger midshipmen to tell the cook to send an extra plate and some wine down to our little cabin.” Travis says, growing bolder and bolder in terms of speaking to me each moment we are together.

            “I think I would enjoy spending some time with some civilized people. I will take your offer.” A smile lights up his face as he offers me his arm, as arm I gladly accept. We walk across the deck and down a set of stairs, stairs that I am sure lead to the jolly midshipmen’s berth. He throws the hatch and I look in, letting out a gasp of surprise due to what lies within.

Author's Note

So, if you see any spelling errors/grammatical errors, i would love it if you could tell me. I'm not so good at that stuff. Thanks and hope you enjoy! And just a note, i really hate technology and I think it hates me. The font would be smaller but it refuses to cooperate!

Reviews

[Theresa]

"makes him grow the a deep" I don't think "the" belongs.
"I let out a gasp of surprise escapes my throat" I would reword this. Either I let out a gasp of surprise from my throat or A gasp of surprise escapes my throat.
Those are the only 2 grammatical errors I caught. I like the way you ended this chapter it makes you want to know what sight made her gasp. I also agree with Moyo a little more description would be good. Help paint a picture within the readers mind. When she enters the ship you can go more into detail as to what it is she's seeing that makes it so big. Other then that I like how the story is developing.

[Moyo]

This was a nice happy chapter, but I think that if you added a bit more description you would make it a bit longer and more appealing to the senses.