Chapter 6: Galley Garden

Evie Stanton

Thane's mother stared at me as I fiddled with the hem of my pants. While I was relieved to be in something that covered my skin from prying eyes, the fabric felt odd against my skin. The leather material felt stiff, scratchy.

I still wore Thane's blouse, feeling incredibly unsupported without my corset. I constantly folded my arms across my chest to hide my breasts. Usually, from the neck down, I wore layers upon layers and gloves, hiding every square inch of my skin.

Even though I was covered in the traditional sense, the lightweight nature of the clothing made me feel incredibly naked.

Especially with crewmen eyeing me while they cracked their boiled eggs.

She wasn't particularly chatty. Gave me just as much as her son did. A whole lot of nothing. Those cold eyes of hers unnerved me, like I wasn't sure if she was going to outright kill me or not. She looked like she wanted to.

"Where did Thane find you?" she asked, breaking the silent standoff between us.

"You mean where he kidnapped me?" I quipped.

The hard line of her lips quirked just slightly in the corner. "Yes."

I cleared my throat, still holding the boiled egg in my hands. I was unsure how to crack it, so I just pretended to not be hungry. "Outside a tavern."

"A tavern?" she repeated. "Why would you leave the lavishness of the castle?"

My mouth went dry for a second, but instead of answering, I shrugged. "When can I go home?"

"Yet to be seen." She noticed the egg in my hand. "Is there something wrong with it?"

A heat flushed my cheeks. "N-no. I… um…" I lowered my voice to a whisper so I wouldn't appear even more pathetic to the sailors. "I've never had eggs like this." They were always already peeled for me.

To my surprise, Thane's mother didn't laugh at me. Instead, she took an egg, smacked it on the side of the table, and slowly peeled it, discarding the shell into a wastebasket.

I repeated her action, gauging the egg with my fingernails. Once the calcified cover fell off, I released a triumphant ha before enjoying the simple breakfast. "Thank you…"

"Katarina," Thane's mother offered.

"Katarina," I repeated with a smile. "Thank you. Where do you get the eggs?"

She leaned back against the chair, the tense air between us dissipated. "We keep chickens with the goats and pigs at the stern, near the officer's quarters."

"You keep livestock on board?" I asked, mystified. I had never seen a pig before.

Katarina tilted her head to the side similarly to how I had seen Thane do. "Yes. We don't keep many, but the goats give us milk for cheese and butter. Chicken for the eggs. Pigs eat scraps to deter the rats. But we have a few cats for that too. Do you like animals?"

"Honestly, I haven't been in the company of many animals. My mother always thought they were too dirty," I answered.

The older woman hummed. "Well, they are very dirty, but companionship is something we value. Long voyages can get lonely." She cracked open another egg, finishing her bite before continuing her statement. "I have business to discuss with my son, but I can have Desmond show you around if you'd like."

"You can just say that you're going to talk about me."

Finally, Katarina released a small chuckle. "Yes. We have much to discuss about you. But, you'll be stuck on this boat with us whether you like it or not."

"So turning around and taking me back home is out of the question? I won't make a fuss. I promise."

"You're a princess, Evelyn. All you do is make a fuss," Katarina poked fun at me and it reminded me of playful teasing Mary would do.

"You can call me Evie," I decided. "Only you though."

The older woman smirked. "Not a fan of my son?"

"He can get fucked by a fish for all I care," I grumbled. "Bastardo."

I half expected her to take offense on Thane's behalf, but like her son, she only laughed at my insults. "Such a mouth. You and I will get along just fine."

Katarina looked up, and I followed her gaze to the slender man from the deck last night. "Katarina. Cap wants to see you."

"Aye. About time. I assume you've already met Evelyn."

He nodded. "Oh yes. We have."

Oh, that's right. I swore at him before jumping overboard last night. Not my brightest moment.

Katarina looked at me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "Evie, this is Desmond. He will show you around the ship." She glanced back up at him. "She wants to see the livestock."

Desmond grinned and took off his hat, giving me a respectful dip of his head. "Noted." He threw me a wink. "One moment." Desmond jumped on top of the table, getting the attention of all lounging crewmen. "Attention! This here is Evelyn. She is our prisoner. Touch her and you will have to answer to our captain."

Touch her and answer to the captain? Tingles erupted up my stomach, fluttering like a cacophony of colorful birds.

"We have two weeks until we're back at safehold. Until then, be on your best behavior. Wouldn't want our guest to think we were scoundrels. At ease," Desmond finished, grinning ear to ear when he jumped off the table. He held a hand out to me. "Come now, lass. Much to see."

I glanced over Desmond's hand, working hands. Still, I didn't take it. I stood up from my seat, chin tilted high. "Where's that woman? Rio, was it?"

Desmond's grin never left his lips. "My sister?" He paused. "Do men make you uncomfortable, princess?"

"I would rather have a woman show me around."

"Rio is indisposed at the moment," Desmond answered.

I huffed, crossing my arms more tightly against my bodice. "Well, are there any other women aboard?"

"Just Rio and Katarina," he replied. "Will it make you feel better if I promise to be on my best behavior?"

"No."

Desmond chuckled, dark brown eyes gleaming. "I could always take a page out of the Captain's book. Throw you over my shoulder and drop you in the bilge. Have the rats nibble your toes off."

I took a few steps backward, hating the idea of someone's hands on me. "Don't manhandle me. Lead the way, sir."

"Sir?" he threw his head back and laughed. "It appears you did leave the castle with a few manners. I was beginning to think you were blowing smoke." He gestured for me to follow him out of the mess.

Desmond kept his word, and remained on his best behavior. He led me down the main deck, stopping along a brightly lit corridor. "This is the galley," he started.

I peeked inside the open doorway. There weren't many windows aside from Thane's cabin and where Katarina dressed me earlier. But the galley was wide open, open to outdoor decking. The doors were secured on rails, allowing it to feel much more open than it was. Greenery welcomed me, a small garden on the deck. "You have a garden."

Desmond followed me, passing me to step out onto the open deck. A few small plants grew cherry tomatoes among more berry-like plants and leafy greens. Planted in pots and rectangular troughs. Remnants of eggshells littered the dirt.

He plucked one of the ruby red fruits, offering it to me. "It's not much, but it's enough to prevent scurvy. And having something green amongst all the blue keeps morale up."

I accepted the small offering, the produce slightly bruised and more withered than it would have been on land. "How do you water them? You don't use seawater, do you?"

"We picked up a technique used by Eastern ships." He opened a side compartment behind a tomato plant, revealing a long pipe spilling seawater into a funnel disappearing into the ship's hull. "Quite ingenious. But I don't want to bore you with the details."

Well, he simply couldn't leave it like that. All of my books documented sailors had to bring freshwater with them. That there was no source of freshwater on the sea. "Tell me."

Desmond seemed pleased by my interest and waved me over to stand next to him. Hesitantly, I slid between the plants and the half-wall. "As the boat glides along the surface, it picks up seawater, sending it to the greenhouse to cool it. The process heats up the water."

"You have a greenhouse too?"

"Next to the livestock, yes," he answered with a polite smile. "Then we push the seawater through numerous filters, separating it from the salt. It takes copious amounts of energy, so we store it as it happens. If we lose the wind, we lose the ability to make water. I'm sure Katarina could explain it better. She designed it."

The awe brightened my eyes. "That's fascinating."

"I'm glad you think so. What do you think of the fruit?" he asked, noticing I still hadn't taken a bite from the tomato he handed me.

I popped the fruit into my mouth, enjoying the refreshing acidic quality. "Not bad."

He took me downstairs to the crew's quarters, where several men still slept in hammocks, lulled to sleep by the waves. Desmond informed me they worked the night.

Various crewmen passed Desmond, greeting him before scurrying off to their daily duties. Next, he took us up to the officer lounge where Katarina had dressed me earlier.

"Gunner, Jack and I share these bunks. Rio and Katarina sleep next door. You will bunk with them, but beware, this cabin will leak during storms," Desmond stated, continuing on down the deck, pointed boots tapping along the wood.

Finally, he led me to where they kept the livestock. At my arrival, the creatures seemed to get even louder. Bauking and baa-ing at me. Desmond greeted the man caring for the animals, calling him Shep.

"Is that a pig?" I asked, pointing at the plump, brown creature sleeping belly up in a pen.

"Ah, yes. We call her Penny. Our own personal trash compactor," Shep answered me. "She likes belly rubs."

I gaped, hands reaching out in a silent question.

Shep's eyes crinkled as I made yet another crew member laugh. "Go ahead." He opened the pen for me, stepping aside to have a hushed conversation with Desmond.

I couldn't care less about what they were saying. I took several steps forward to the sleeping creature and knelt by its gaping mouth, puffing out foul breath. How could I call anyone a pig maliciously when they were so adorable up close?

The pig wheezed loudly, snoring as I reached out and rubbed its soft belly between the wiry black hairs of its coat. My touch didn't wake it, and I couldn't help a little giggle from spilling from between my lips.

"I thought you'd bring her here," Katarina interrupted my bonding moment with a sleeping pig. "Captain would like to see you."

I scoffed. "Tell him I'm busy."

"Come now, princess. Penny will still be here later," Desmond called over to me.

With one final pat to Penny's snout, I whispered, "I'll come back for more pets later." I stood up. "Fine."

Desmond and Katarina showed me where to find the freshwater to wash my hands before going back up to Thane's cabin. "Desmond told me about your desalination process," I mused to Katarina. "It's really impressive."

I could tell Katarina tried really hard not to smile, but she failed. "Thank you, Evie."

There was something about Katarina. I wanted to impress her and make her like me. Perhaps to fill the void my own parents left me with. Just the thought of my mother's cynical gaze felt like a hard squeeze in my chest.

When we got to the captain's quarters, Thane was sitting at his desk, his hat hanging on the coat rack behind him. I thought that by now, the sight of him wouldn't feel so… overwhelming didn't feel like the right word.

My pulse pounded hard. He glanced up at me, those stark sapphire-tinged eyes bewildering me again.

Somehow I forgot how to breathe. Something so natural, completely forgotten. I felt like a fool when I broke the silence with a sharp intake of breath.

"Did Desmond show you around?" Thane asked casually, like he was a friend instead of a captor.

I didn't want to grace him with my voice, so I crossed my arms and nodded.

He stood up, getting to the front of his desk and leaning back. With his arms across his broad chest, the gesture made him seem even larger than he was. He glanced past me at Desmond and Katarina.

I completely forgot they were there.

"Give us some privacy, please," Thane requested. The door opened and closed and suddenly, the room felt empty behind me. "What do you think of the ship?"

"Why do you care?" I retorted.

"I don't. But some of us were raised to be polite," he returned with a quirk of his brow.

I scoffed. "Is that what you call it, when you save young women just to kidnap them?" I didn't wait for him to reply before I demanded. "Take me home."

"Not how it works, princess."

"Then tell me how it works," I hissed, wrinkling my nose in an attempt to appear intimidating.

Thane sighed, his massive shoulders rising and falling. "I'm not showing my face in Avalon. When you get back home, it'll be on another ship, far away from me. For now, you sit pretty."

I groaned in frustration. "I don't want to be here."

He remained silent for a moment, his eyes trailing up and down my new attire. "Answer a question of mine, sweetheart."

"Only if you answer one of mine."

Those tempting lips of his pulled into a sideways smile, "What's a princess doing at a seedy tavern?"

My lips parted, and I pulled my lower lip between my teeth. "I wanted a drink."

A loud laugh erupted from Thane's lips. "A drink? Really?"

"Yes. Really." A warm flush spread from my neck up to my cheeks. "Now you answer my question."

"Ask carefully."

I looked him directly in the eye, noting the flicker of blue wavering beneath the depths. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Nothing. I can see just fine," he said with a dazzling crooked smile.

"That's… that's not what I meant."

He tilted his head to the side like he was cross-examining me. He pushed off his desk, taking several steps toward me, but for him, I didn't back away. "Then what did you mean? Because they look different from yours, they're wrong?"

My skin buzzed at his proximity, every nerve ending standing on edge, demanding the soothing balm of his calloused touch. One of his fingers touched the soft underside of my chin, locking my gaze on his. My eyelashes fluttered, a sigh blowing past my lips. Those unique eyes flicked down to my mouth, his tongue sneaking from behind his lower lip to moisten it.

Then he was gone, withdrawing several feet back to his desk. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he wanted to kiss me. "We're going to be at sea for two weeks. I'm more than happy to give you free rein of the ship, assuming you won't jump overboard again."

Somehow, I found my voice. "For now. The second I see land, I'm taking a dive."