When he woke up the early next morning, a section of the room was already divided off by a sheet strung up at the end near the latrine. Another sheet was strung across Angel's bunk.
Angel herself was nowhere to be seen. Jonathan quickly got dressed and headed towards the main deck. He had just stepped off the ladder onto the deck when he was almost knocked down by someone colliding into him from the side.
He turned to see Angel glowering at him, hands on her hips. She was dressed in brown pants and boots, a white blouse, and a brown vest and a thick belt. Various straps built into her clothes buckled into each other and contained a series of D-rings at various places such as her waist, her chest, her back, and her shoulders. Attached to one of those D-rings was a heavy rope line that led to a slider on another rope.
As Jonathan stood there, Angel tapped the line and then the ring. She then pointed to a similar line positioned by the hatch and then to Jonathan. When he looked at her in confusion, she repeated the motion.
"I don't see why I need a rope," the boy muttered. "We're going to take off soon, I want to see." He tried to step around Angel, but she moved to block his path, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
When he attempted to push past her, she reached out to grab him by his arms and spun him around so he could take in the deck. Gradually, he realized that everyone on the deck—sailors, officers, and everyone else—all had lines. Most wore clothing like Angel's that had rings on them. Others wore harnesses over their clothes.
Then Angel spun him back toward the hatch and marched him to it. He tried to struggle, but she was stronger and her anger only magnified her strength. After a few moments, he realized his efforts were futile and he quit resisting.
Angel dragged him back to their cabin. Once inside, she kicked the door shut behind them. She shoved him towards his bunk and motioned for him to stay with a scowl.
Dragging her trunks out from under her bed she went digging through first one and then the other. Her scowl increased and she abandoned her attempts to be neat as she the minutes dragged out.
At last, she breathed a sigh of relief and allowed a momentary grin as she held up her find in front of her and turned so Jonathan could see it. A leather and brass steel harness dangled from her hands. She held it out to him and motioned him to take it.
Jonathan looked at it, a skeptical expression on his face as he examined it.
Angel rolled her eyes and sighed theatrically before holding out her hand. She took the harness back and then motioned for Jonathan to stand up. Once he did, she helped him put it on, starting with putting his legs through the thigh loops and working up.
Once the harness was on, Jonathan felt a bit uncomfortable. The harness was obviously designed for a girl. The straps around the crotch pulled and pinched in ways that were painful. Furthermore two of the straps across the chest were too loose, and the realization that the strap that connected them was designed to go between a girl's breasts made him blush and fidget awkwardly.
That awkwardness only grew as Angel began adjusting the straps, especially the ones around the crotch. It didn't seem to bother her nearly as much as it did him. She didn't even blush until she saw how he was blushing. At last, she was finished, and he had to admit that though the harness still felt awkward, it was no longer painful.
Just then, they heard the loud snap-hiss of the burners and felt the ship shudder. Angel opened the door and then grabbed his hand. Together they ran towards the ladder to the deck. Angel climbed of first, and was already waiting with a line snapped to her clothing and another already in hand. The moment Jonathan reached the top of ladder, Angel snapped the second line to his back. She also took a smaller line and snapped it to each of their waists.
From there, Angel pulled him to the ladder to the deck on top of the after-castle. Once they reached the top, Angel switched their safety lines to another pair. After that she deftly led them around the crew members that were hurrying back and forth, tying off lines, or relaying last minute orders. They made it to the edge of the deck just in time to watch the ramp to the main deck retract.
Jonathan was amazed at how loud everything was. The sounds of hammering, clanking metal, creaking wood, and shouting came from seemingly ever single direction. Above it all was the constant snap-hiss and rumbling of the giant burners above the top masts.
A few minutes later the ship lurched again and began to rise. The lines holding the ship in place slowly fell away, and the Queen of Argyll slipped quietly into the sky.
They watched the ground appear to fall away; everything shrinking until at last only the largest buildings and ships that were already airborne were the only things still distinguishable. By now the temperature was starting to fall and the winds were roaring past them so much that it was much harder to hear, and Jonathan's eyes hurt.
He felt something pressed into his hands, and looked down to see a pair of goggles. He turned to see Angel adjusting a pair of her own. She gave a nod and a smile when Jonathan slipped the pair she had given him on.
A motion in his peripheral caught his attention, and he turned his head in time to see the wing masts lowering into place. Once they were completely horizontal, the sails on all the masts snapped open causing the ship to lurch.
Angel took the lurch in stride, but Jonathan was unprepared and nearly fell. Fortunately, Angel gripped onto the line between them before he lost his footing completely, and he was able to regain his balance with her assistance.
Balance restored, he moved beside her and noticed her scowling. Raising his voice to be heard, he asked her what was wrong.
In response she pointed to the wing masts. When he asked her what was the matter with them, she pulled out her notepad and did her best to write an answer.
Looking over her shoulder Jonathan read aloud but made it into a question, "They should be lower?"
Angel nodded, and put her pen and paper away. She grabbed his hand and set off. Under Angel's lead they wove their way around the deck, deftly avoiding the lifeboats, crew and other obstacles in their way. After a few moments of searching, she found the captain near the wheel and pulled Jonathan over.
The captain saw Angel coming and chuckled, the noise carrying over the wind somehow. "I bet I already know what you're going to tell me, lass," the captain turned and gestured towards the wing-masts. "You're going to say those masts need to be lower and you're right, they do. And they will be. But I like to examine them the first time we deploy them after we've been docked. I find it helps spot problems early on and prevent trouble down the road. And it's easier to examine them at this angle."
The captain grinned at her. "I heard you were very upset when we did this on our launch and worried we always deployed them like this." He shook his head slightly in amusement.
The amusement turned into a frown as the captain saw something over Angel's shoulder. He pointed and Jonathan and Angel both turned around to look at what he was pointing at. "See that bit of metal flapping over there? Normally that bracket would hold one of the pipes that run steam out to the propellers but we didn't take the time to replace those since we needed to get you out of Boston. The way that bracket is flapping like that, it can shear right off. If that happens, it can snap some of those lines right in half or tear through the sails."
He turned and barked orders to his men to get the bracket fixed and then turned his attention back to Angel. "That's why I do that, lass. I'm not trying to abuse your fine work."
Placated, Angel was no longer scowling. Instead she tapped her chin in thought, nodding at the captain's words as she peered at the masts.
The captain clapped her shoulder. "Already thinking up something, I see," he laughed. "I'll leave you two to it. I need to get back to work. Don't forget to get some breakfast from the mess if you haven't already. I saw the rush you were in to get up here for the launch."
Angel nodded and led Jonathan away. They watched the land recede for a bit longer before heading down to the mess for food. Jonathan was slightly disappointed. The food was alright, but simpler and blander than he expected.
After that, to Jonathan's dismay, Angel took them to their tutor's cabin where they spent much of the day deep in lessons. Unsurprisingly, Jonathan was nowhere near Angel's level in math or some areas of science, though the tutor was quick to point out Jonathan had a much better understanding than the tutor had expected. What did surprise Jonathan though is that in history, literature, philosophy, and languages, he greatly surpassed Angel in most aspects.
Jonathan and Angel spent most of the day with the tutors, pausing only for lunch in the mess. After supper, the duo returned to their own cabin where Jonathan did some assigned reading while Angel quickly used the latrine and then set to work at her desk.
When dusk rolled around, Angel grabbed Jonathan and led him up to the deck. After putting on their safety lines and goggles, she led him all the way to the top, stern most section of the ship. After a couple of minutes of searching for a good spot, she found a crate near the stern railing that was heavily secured to the deck that could serve as a makeshift bench. She sat down and motioned for Jonathan to join her.
Once Jonathan sat beside her, Angel pulled him up against her. Together they watched the sunset. Even after the sun had disappeared over the horizon, they continued to watch as the stars came out.
The whole time Jonathan was very conscious of Angel's body so close to his own. He thought it was a little disgusting, but he also found an equal part of secretly thought it was nice and he didn't want it to end. When at last, it grew to cold to remain, and Angel placed a soft kiss on his cheek before getting to her feet and pulling him to his, he no longer knew what to think.