9th day of the 3rd month 650th year of the 8th era

Jeemo leaned out of the porthole. The sea breeze was lovely and the scent of water, as it sprayed against the side of the ship, was invigorating. A hand slipped around her waist and a warm familiar body pressed against her cool skin. Jeemo smiled and leaned into Rolando’s embrace. She turned to him and returned his embrace, feeling his manhood rise, pressing against her own warming womanhood.

“Don’t you think the captain will wonder why we are late for breakfast?” Jeemo asked, placing a kiss on Rolando’s rough cheek.

“Let him wonder,” Rolando murmured as he held her deeply, nuzzling her neck and shoulder.

“We haven’t seen him all trip,” she said and slipped out of his embrace. She danced across the room and grabbed a black dress out of her bag.

“Well Canice was tasked to look after us,” Rolando said, stalking across the room and sighing as Jeemo pulled the dress over her beautiful body.

“I guess he is busy,” she said, as she pulled her long black hair out from her dress.

Rolando pulled on a pair of black slacks and a grey shirt.

“It must take a lot of time dealing with all the cargo and the crew,” Jeemo said.

“It really depends on the cargo,” Rolando said. “I run cargo on this sea, and I haven’t seen anything that would make the captain ignore his guests as he has done.”

Dressed, they opened the door and stepped out of the room, walking down the corridor to the aft of the ship. When Rolando knocked on the door, Canice opened it and let them in.

Inside was a ready room that was packed to the ceiling with crates and bolts of cloth.

“The captain gives his apologies,” Canice said, “but this cargo would normally have gone into the room you two now share.

“The ship must be travelling very heavy if the ship is packed this much,” Rolando observed.

“We have other passengers that demand a certain amount of privacy and seclusion,” Canice elaborated. “Which is why you have not met them.”

“I see,” Rolando said. “Important enough that they get cabins, and the regular cargo ends up in the captain’s ready room. Couldn’t this fit in the hold?”

“The hold is full and has been segmented off for more passengers,” Canice said. “Please, ask no more questions; you don’t want to know what we are transporting and who. For your own safety and that of the crew.”

“Slaves wouldn’t be treated like this,” Rolando muttered to Jeemo. “It is most peculiar. If the cargo is so important, then why did you accept my request for transport?”

Canice shrugged and opened the door on the other side of the ready room. “When you meet the captain, he might be able to explain it.” He ushered them into the captain’s quarters.

The captain’s quarters were only slightly larger than their own cabin, but it too was piled high with crates and sacks and bolts of cloth and silks. In one corner sat a desk cramped beside the crates and sacks, and in another corner stood a table set for four. The table had a simple seven candelabra in the centre, the crockery as simple with no other colour than a washed out white. The cutlery was plain unadorned silver.

The captain, Miake Kaori, rose from behind the desk, squeezed out, and came over to greet them. “Sorry for the delay in attending you, but I have limited table space and my father insisted I entertain the other guests before my own guests. Take care of business before dealing with pleasure were his guiding principles.”

“I understand you have a lot of guests,” Rolando said.

“I am sorry that you can’t meet them,” Miake said. “Distinguished guests such as yourselves should not be seen with them.”

“Who are they?” Jeemo asked.

“My father’s business ventures,” Miake said. “Please sit at dinner. The cook will bring us some food shortly.”

“What sort of business is your father into?” Rolando asked as they sat at the table. He held a seat for Jeemo before sitting down himself.

“I am into trade,” Miake said, “my father … how to say this … he is into … entertainment.”

Rolando raised an eyebrow, and Jeemo tilted her head, in curiosity.

“But enough about him.” Miake clapped. “I hear that congratulations are in order.”

They both smiled and blushed red.

“I met you seven days ago, for the first time,” Miake said, “and then two days after you announce your engagement to this man. Well done, man.”

“Thank you,” Rolando squeaked out.

“I admit, I was a little surprised your mother only just announced that you were looking for a suitor, and then so quickly you declare for him. What did you do?”

A small man in white trousers and an apron, entered the room and pushed a trolley laden with plates of food.

“I had known Jeemo for many years from her shop,” Rolando explained as the plates were deposited around the table by the tired-looking man.

“Yes,” Jeemo agreed. “He had been coming around to the shop every day. I guess we became friends.” She shrugged. The plate in front of her was that of a slice of overdone roast meat and some blackened tubers covered in a thick gravy.

The cook left, wheeling the trolley before him.

Once the door had closed, Miake apologised. “I am sorry for the meal; it’s not what you are both used to. He can’t do much else, but his gravy is always amazing.”

Jeemo picked up a tarnished silver fork, lifted a little gravy to her lips and tasted it. It was a riot of flavours and richness. “It is very good.”

“I will tell him,” Miake said. “It is a pity about the rest of the food.”

Rolando cut some meat and popped it into his mouth and promptly spat it out. “That’s disgusting. How do you eat this?”

“I cover it a generous helping of gravy,” Miake said, lifting a meat-laden fork covered in gravy. “It’s the only way to make it palatable.”

The ship suddenly rocked to the side, sending the plates and table covering sliding to the wall as the ship lurched nearly sideways.

“What was that?” Miake said. “You should return to your cabin; I will have to go see what is happening.”

The ship righted itself and they rushed to the door as it was rocked in the other direction. They were sent sprawling through the door. Rolando caught Jeemo and shielded her before a large crate crashed onto her. The crate smashed, sending pieces of timber, straw and scented perfume all over his back. Several pieces of wood and glass were embedded into his back. The ship returned to normal and they rushed out into the corridor and quickly into their cabin. Inside the cabin, a large amount of water had poured in through the open porthole and was sluicing across the floor and running out of their door.

Rolando ran across the room, reaching the porthole just as wave crashed into it, more water rushing into the room. As the ship returned to level, he shut the hatch, sealing off the water as it crashed against the hull of the ship. The water had soaked everything in the room. Their clothes and their hammocks were all drenched. The water began to run out of the room and Jeemo caught their bags before they were carried out on the water.

“It looks like we forgot to close the hatch when we left,” Rolando said. “Everything will be wet.”

Jeemo closed the door, opened her bag, and pulled out all her clothes, all dripping wet. “What can we do?”

“We wait out the storm and then hang them about the room and hope they will be dry before we get to Pergasus.”

The ship pitched to the side agin and Rolando caught Jeemo as she tumbled into him. He winced as he crashed into the wall. Blood dripped into the water. Jeemo saw it, and gasped.

“Love, you are hurt,” Jeemo said.

“It would seem that the crate that crashed into me contained several glass bottles of perfume.”

The ship settled back to normal and as they sank into the corner, a trail of blood streaked across the wall.

“Let me look at you,” Jeemo said.

Rolando turned and showed her his back.

Jeemo gasped. His back was pierced by six shards of glass and a piece of wood. His shirt was stained red with the blood.

“Should I call the doctor?” she asked.

“Are any of the pieces very big?”

“No, they are all quite small,” Jeemo said, touching one. He gasped in pain.

“Then you will need to pull them out and wrap the wounds,” Rolando instructed.

“It looks like it will be painful,” Jeemo said. “Is there any way we can dull the pain?”

“No,” Rolando gasped. “Inside my bag is a flask.”

Jeemo grabbed his bag, pulled out his drenched clothes and found a small metal flask. “What do I do?” she asked.

“Before you pull something out of me,” he said, “pour a drop or two on the wound.”

“Will that help with the pain?” she asked.

“I hope so,” he gasped. “It will prevent it from getting infected.”

Jeemo opened the flask and powerful smell of strong alcohol hit her. “This is strong stuff.”

The ship lurched again, and they floated into the air, as the ship dropped from the top of a wave. The ship hit the water again with a loud crash, and they fell back into the floor with a loud thud.

“Do it now,” Rolando commanded.

As Jeemo tilted the flask, a drop of golden liquid fell out and landed on Rolando’s skin near a shard of glass. She pulled it out in a quick motion causing Rolando to gasp and scream. Jeemo took the glass shard and put it into the drawer of the bedside table. The ship lurched starboard and then back to port, before righting itself.

“Next one,” Rolando commanded. “After each sway, do it quick.”

Jeemo poured more alcohol and then pulled a shard of glass from his back. Rolando cursed and breathed through his teeth. She placed the piece in the drawer just as the ship pitched forward and then corrected itself. At that moment she dripped more alcohol and pulled another shard of glass. Soon she developed a rhythm and waited for the swell to correct, then dripped alcohol and pulled out a piece. With each pull, Rolando screamed and cursed then she would drop the piece into the drawer. Each time he screamed her heart twisted for him; she was causing him pain, but the shards couldn’t stay in his back. So, she kept working, ensuring she got them all. When she was about halfway, she noticed he had stopped screaming with each pull. She checked on him and found him slumped against the wall, passed out from the pain. A tear trickled down her face, but she kept going, relieved she no longer had to hear him scream. Once all the pieces were removed, she tore his shirt off his back and turned it into bandages. She wrapped them around his torso covering each of the small wounds. Blood seeped out but was not flowing too fast. For that she was grateful. She then peeled off her damp and bloody dress and sat next to him as if by her very presence she could give him a small measure of comfort. The rocking of the ship soon put her to sleep.

***

A gentle hand brushed her face and the gentle murmur of her name woke her. Rolando was crouched next to her, awake and smiling.

“You did a good job,” Rolando said, love and pride beaming out of his smile.

She looked up to him and stretched. He helped her to her feet. The ship was still rocking more than it needed to. Rolando stood in his trousers; fresh bandages wrapped around him.

“I went to the ship’s doctor and he said that you did a great job and you got all of the pieces,” he explained.

“You left the room without me?” she pouted.

“I only just came back,” he said. “We need to dry our clothes. There is still a fierce storm raging up topside. Everyone is either soaked in their clothes or have ditched them altogether. The captain said we should stay cabin side till the storms pass.”

“What about the other passengers?” Jeemo asked. She stumbled into Rolando as the ship tipped violently.

“The other passengers all had their hatches closed when the storm hit. They are fine.” Rolando pointed at the bedside table. On it sat a large thick blanket. “The captain gave us the blanket to keep warm. Luckily for us the ship drains water well, and the floor is not covered with water.”

Jeemo picked up the soft, warm, brown blanket. When she opened it, she saw an intricate pattern of flowers and leaves. She wrapped it around her and Rolando and they snuggled into the corner of the room, their body heat warming them. Rolando soon drifted off to an exhausted sleep. Jeemo, wide awake, lay there, holding her fiancé’s broken body to hers, willing him to heal. She was far from home and this strong man was her only friend and protector. As long as he was with her, she knew she would be safe.