My precious flower

19| All aboard

NOTE: There was a small change in the previous chapter towards the end. A quick review would be great.

Apologies for the late update but I was busy lately and this was the soonest I could update. Thank you to all of you for your support and love. Especially for taking the time to comment.

Have fun and plz comment!!!

It wasn't long before our carriage arrived at the busy port. There was lots of hustle bustle there with hundreds of people walking about, enjoying the marvelous day. Loud noises of people talking and giving commands spread all around. A few people had set up seafood stalls across the side of the docks as well, entertaining much of the public with fresh food. I could see numerous ships of all sizes on the water, some smaller ones were close to the docks while bigger ones remained in the deep water further in. I looked around in awe at these magnificent works of architecture having totally forgotten why I was here. Suddenly, our carriage halted to a stop near the deck area which snapped me back to the present.

"We are here!" Arsalan stated in his normal tone and I glimpsed at him.

One of the guards opened the carriage door and Arsalan walked out of the carriage first,  I followed behind him. Once outside, he stood a few steps ahead beside the guard engaged in conversation with him while I remained close to the carriage and looked around this new place.

"The ship is set for sail your highness!" The guard standing next to Arsalan notified him and he nodded his head in approval. He then turned to look at me and waved his hand as a signal to me to join him and I so I went up and stood beside him keeping a good distance.

"Ready to board?" Arsalan asked me in a sweet whisper and I nodded looking at him. He then tiled his head slightly towards one of the docks indicting where we were going next. We both started walking there and soon reached the end of the dock. I glimpsed back to see some of the guards following behind with our luggage and any other equipment brought along. Me, Arsalan and four guards boarded a small boat tied by the dock, rocking with the movement of the gentle sea waves. 

Me and Arsalan sat on the same wooden slab in the  front of the boat while the guards sat behind us in pairs in the remaining slabs with our luggage spread across the foot area. The four guards grabbed their ores and began to paddle the boat away from the docks and towards the main ship. To my surprise, Arsalan grabbed a spare ore placed in the boat and began to paddle as well, joining in on the effort. It was quite nice of him to help out like that considering he didn't have to do it. I enjoyed the short boat ride, as I soaked in the warm sunlight and enjoyed the cool wind against my skin. It took a bit of time but we soon arrived at the base of a large ship. 

"Go ahead Isbah, I'll follow behind" Arsalan said once our boat came to a stop next to a rope ladder dangling down from the ship's deck. I looked at him and he gave me an approving look which surprisingly gave me a bit more assurance. I gulped looking at the height but took in a deep breath to calm myself. I slowly stood up from my seat  trying to maintain my balance on the rocking boat and compiled my dress, pulling it up over my feet. 

I wrapped my fists on the sides of the ladder and extended my foot up, placing it on the foot rest. I then pulled the rest of my body up and began to climb the swaying ladder. I tried my best to keep myself balanced and not look down. I slowly climbed up and up making sure not to accidently step on my dress and loose balance or tear it. Soon, I arrived near the top and pulled myself up over the thick wooden taffrail and onto the deck. There were a lot of men standing there, some of who stood close to the ladder incase assistance was needed but thankfully none of them stared at me as if I were an odd one out which I clearly was in this situation. Soon after me, Arsalan reached the deck as well followed by the guards carrying our luggage, some of which was later pulled up with some ropes.