(AN - For Miss Theresa, who inspires me to write now more than ever. Thank you for enjoying this and showing me. I promise to finish this, wherever it may lead. Also, I'm sorry it took forever for me to write this part. D:<)
Rajel should have expected this. In her time, not once had she spent an extended time on a ship. She only stood upon small fishing boats for a small amount of time, and none were as impressive as the illustrious Janua. She may appreciate the ship for all its glory if she were not about to lose what little food she'd consumed earlier in the day. As it were, she stayed seated in a strange hanging chair with a bucket at her feet, in hopes of not dirtying up the Captain's chambers.
Just outside, she could hear her new crew-mates getting the ship ready for sailing out tomorrow morning. Rajel was hopeful in the fact that she would be used to the constant rocking of the floor under her feet by then, or she'll have a very long journey ahead of her.
She was also keenly aware of the crashing of the waves against the Jauna's sides. Rajel was no expert, but she was getting the strangest feeling that the weather was turning sour. After taking an embarrassing long time to get to the porthole glass, she wasn't surprised to see dark grey skies along with whitecapped harbor sea.
"Best back away from the window, lass. The storm's only getting worse." The captain's voice startled Rajel but she said nothing to acknowledge him. He glanced towards the bucket on the floor by the hanging chair and laughed. "Not got your sea legs yet, eh? You'll be fine within the week." Rajel turned to watch him as he sat on his bed to remove his boots. She continued her silence but returned to the chair she had previously sat.
"Lost your voice or afraid of loosing your lunch? Your brother was just the same his first week. Women usually take less time to settle their stomachs to sea life. I wouldn't suggest food tonight, to be safe." The captain suddenly seemed older than his appearance led one to believe. If Rajel believed in demons and Gods, she'd entertain the idea that the captain was possessed by a demon. But honestly, none of that made sense to Rajel. She'd gone with Mama to the local church many a times, listening to the priests preach about the White Forest.
The captain suddenly fell back into his bed with a huff, his dark dreadlocks spreading out lightly. Rajel wondered why he kept his hair like that, dreaded and long. She had long hair herself as it was part of her look as a Jezebell, but in all honesty, it was more a hassle than anything else.
"You believe in the Forest of White Trees, lass?"
"Nay. Don't believe in any gods. None of 'em have ever helped me any - its been all on me." Rajel spoke quietly. She glanced over at the captain and saw that he had a grin plastered on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. "Or Riq, or Ty. Damn priests thought me possessed when small. Mama had them and the Hag check me over. One even smeared my face with 'holy sap' from a White Tree. Shit was in my hair for days." She then realized just how much she had spoken, with barely any prompting from the Captain and felt her cheeks heat up. What a ridiculous topic to rave on about. Thankfully, the captain seemed to dose off after that. Riq had mentioned that he rarely got good rest - had to keep watch while the other louts fell asleep on the job.
Somehow, even with the rocking of the ship, Rajel managed to fall asleep for several hours. When she awoke, she found herself still curled in the strange chair, but with one of Gregor's furs draped over her haphazardly.
"Would have moved you, but your brother mentioned you've got a mean left hook. Not really in the mood to get clobbered, if you know what I mean." He gave a wink before turning back to fiddling with the lantern on the makeshift table in the corner. Rajel blinked several times, surprised not just by the fact that she'd managed to fall asleep, but that the Captain had taken the time to make sure she wouldn't become sick from sleeping without a cover.
It was still night, as there was no sunlight pouring from the small porthole, so Rajel settled for wrapping the furs tighter around her and hunkering down for the rest of the night.
"Lass, you can take the other side of the bed. No wondering hands here."
" You told me not to listen to the Hag's vision - why?" She paused only to gulp down air. Captain Innocencio barely had time to turn to stare at her. "I doubt you even know what she said!" her mouth clamped shut when she caught the dark look in the captain's eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak further.
"And you think she speaks the truth? Tell me, Rajel, what did the old Hag predict this time? Scores of riches if you became my little whore, or maybe you'd be able to kill me in my sleep and take command of the Janua?" His voice held nothing, not even malice. It was a strange sound to Rajel's ears.
"I... Captain..."
"No, do tell. What did the Hag predict?"
"She... She told me to tap into my spark... so that the imaginary White Trees of Old couldn't hold me against my will and 'tame' a Black Beast. Normally her visions aren't so outrageous... Last time it was just to keep Enrique from being taken by the militia because he was meant to be on The Janua." She stared at her feet, waiting for the Captain to speak. However, she did not expect the captain to disappear out the door of his chambers. She heard him call for Enrique.
"What did she do now?" Rajel rolled her eyes at the contempt in her brother's voice.
"Did you accept the position on the Janua's crew because of a vision from the Hag?"
"What? Did Rajel tell you about that one? She never tells me about ones of myself. Says it could mess with the future or something. But the Hag's told me visions of Rajel that have come true. She once had a vision that McCallahan would buy her out of the Jezebel life. He did.... in the end." Enrique coughed as the captain shouted in a language Rajel couldn't make out.
The Captain did not return to his chambers again that night.