Chapter 5
Already tired of watching the same thing happen over and over again, she sighed impatiently for the sixth time in five minutes. But she knew she couldn't move, and shouldn't be seen. Sir Roberts had warned her against it, being seen by the crew members would only mean turning herself in as a slave to be sold across the sea or worse, as a sex slave for the crew men on the ship.The kitchen was not exactly the best place to hide, not with all the heat still hanging and the ocean breezes. Once they were out to sea it wouldn't be so bad, but now, with the huge brick ovens radiating heat since before morning, and steam rolling out of pots on the stove from what promised to be a tasty evening meal, it was hot as the devil's welcome.The cook and his two helpers had discarded most of their clothes by the time the crew started wandering in for a quick breakfast, a man or two at a time strolled into the kitchen occasionally, since the hours before takeoff were the busiest time aboard.She watched the activity on the outside with curious eyes for a while as the last of the ship's supplies and equipment were delivered and carried to the storage and Kitchen.If it weren't for the heat, she would really have liked it in the kitchen because it was certainly the cleanest part of the ship she'd seen yet. But then the whole ship had a dirty look to it, and, in fact, Sir Roberts had informed her that this particular one was headed to North America, he had said they had 'cargo' which they wished to sell. She guessed correctly that that 'cargo' included slaves and palm oil and other things that would attract illegal money.Her thoughts were interrupted when a white cat ran past leg with a terrifying speed. She scanned the room frantically in search of the cat, but she couldn’t tell where it had entered. A long table in the center of the room was lined with different cooking equipment, a butcher's knife lay carelessly on the table waiting to drip blood from one of the many live animals cages to guarantee fresh meat for the whole voyage.The room was as cluttered like any kitchen with spices and pots, bags and utensils, and everything was carefully secured to the floor, walls, or ceiling, probably to hold it in place during a storm. She considered making use of the butcher's knife as the cat made towards her again, but she changed her mind when it curled into a ball with its head on her feet. She reached for its head and stroked it gently, the cat yawned and stretched as she caressed its back softly and it let out a shrill cry of pleasure."Little cutie, my mother did not send you here to monitor me now, did she?"The cat made a sliding move with its hand while she laughed at her own question, "Forgive my superstitious reasoning.The cat meowed now and shifted closer to her leg, probably for warmth.Nancy lifted the cat into her arms and continued to caress it's back softly, on closer examination, it was actually a kitten, "Poor baby, speaking of mothers, where is yours?"When the kitten only yawned, she whispered, "I take it you are lost then, I actually need a companion, so I might as well keep you""Alright, that would not be fair,” she said on second thoughts, “I'll give you an opportunity to decide if you want to stay with me or not. If you are lost, once I drop you, go back where you came from, but if you want to stay with me, don't go,"She took in a light breath and dropped the kitten, it only stared back at her when she tried to turn away, She counted to five before picking it back into her arms, "I take it you want to be with me then, I'll call you…Victory! Because we'll make it to our destination and travel the world together"The cat meowed in the comfort of her new mistress's arms.********When Sir Roberts returned to the Kitchen where he had left the girl later that evening, it was to find her sleeping peacefully on the cold floor with a kitten curled in a ball also sleeping peacefully in the crook of her arm. He was surprised to find her sleeping, and more surprised to find her with the Kitten, he had been gone all day in search of a safe place on the ship for her to stay through the voyage.He knelt beside her sleeping form, intending to tap her, but he paused to stare. The girl was just too beautiful. He stared at her closed eyes perfectly shaded by long curly black lashes that complemented her dark brown skin. Those eyes led down to a perfectly shaped nose, not pointed and not flat. And underneath it lay the lips, luscious and sensual.From the first day he had seen her in the village, his only dream had been to kiss those lips, and once that dream had come to pass. But it had happened only because she had been curious, curious to find out what a man's lips felt like. She was perfectly made, his Nancy, her shape was heavenly. A perfect definition of an African queen, strong willed and resilient.When she had proposed to follow him on his next voyage back to America, he had been glad. It had been a dream come true for him, because he had been willing to ask her to follow him, willing to ask her to marry him.He had taught her a few things, taught her the basics of his people and she was willing to learn and adjust, it would be just a matter of time before she got used to her new life with his people, and then they'll live together and make babies, beautiful babies.With that thought, he smiled and tapped her gently, the kitten woke up first and stared at him inquisitively."Roberts, you are back"Roberts flashed her a smile, " You slept off, who is your companion? You brought a kitten onboard? It would die before we even make it to the heart of the sea,"Nancy eyed him cautiously and held the kitten to her chest tightly, "You are not planning to kill it, are you?""Ah, no. I wouldn't do that. But the weather condition here would be too harsh for it, it might not survive a storm"Nancy eyed him again and he gave her an apologetic look, she smiled reassuringly. "Actually, I did not bring it with me, we met here and fell in love, I've taken it in and I've christened it Victory""Victory. That's quite a name. Are you sure its owners are not close?""I think it's stranded. I'll give it all the warmth I can, Roberts. It will not die. Speaking of the storm, did you find a place?""Oh yes. I was able to secure a cabin, but you'll have to hide from the crew. I'll sneak in meals for you anytime I'm opportuned to. If you intend to keep the kitten then keep it as quiet as you can."Nancy nodded, "And where will you be staying?" She asked."I'll be with Donald in his cabin through the trip, I couldn't find two free cabins because the ship is crowded and we came in late yesterday.""You gave me your own, then?"He smiled, "We should go now before the hall gets flooded again, we can't risk your being discovered. Keep that thing as quiet as you can" he nodded towards the kitten."Thank you very much Roberts, for all you have done for me so far. We'll be quiet." Nancy said.He paused to look at her for a while, she looked too revealed in the shapely African dress she wore, it did nothing to hide her curvy body. Roberts shook his head in disapproval, he took out out some of his clothes from his bag and threw it to her, "Wear these""Why? These are your clothes… male wears" She frowned."Wear them" He tossed her his hat and added, "And wear that too, make sure you hide your hair""Why do I have to dress in your clothes?""Because you'll be disguised as a boy through this trip, a cabin boy"Chapter 6With Annoyance, he stalked down the hall, the thought of several ways to escape his father's devilish plans plaguing his mind. Of Course he could not think of any, it was not like his father to make empty threats, if he had said it, and in the presence of that coffee colored old man, then he definitely meant it. Three days had passed already and he had heard nothing concerning the matter from his father or his mother. It was on Daniel, his brother who tried to give him the reassurance that marriage was not as bad as he thought and tried to make him think it could work for him. "The fact that it's working for you should not make you think it will work for everyone, and certainly not me." It was all he could say to make his brother leave him alone, that too seemed not to be working. "You can look at our parent's marriage if you need another instance, Derek. They have been together for…" Derek rolled his eyes, "Spare me the sermon and get out of my room, Daniel. Your wife n
Chapter 7Dressing in a man’s clothes was not as difficult as staying with a man in the same cabin, or pretending to be a man and an errand boy at the same time. Nancy sighed for the umpteenth time, her patience was running thin by the minute, she had been standing by the men who had come in with Sir Roberts that morning, waiting for their breakfast to be over so she could have hers. It came with being a cabin boy, she was told. The men chatted on with no care in the world for the boy standing by them, not the least bit concerned if she had eaten. Only Sir Roberts spared her glances occasionally with pleading eyes urging that she remain silent to prevent the men from seeing through her disguise. Nancy understood perfectly, she was no stranger to hunger or starvation and she could not risk being discovered now. Last night, she had overheard a girl screaming in a distant cabin as men took turns on her. She could tell which class the girl belonged, for even on the ship, there was an hi
Chapter 8For hours after the men left, Nancy was still curled up at a corner in the cabin. She had lost track of time but she knew it was over hours. Victory lay curled in a ball at her feet, she had managed to get up and feed the poor little kitten. She still felt sorry for the way the lousy Luppet had kicked the cat, not like she had a say in the matter, the knot in her chest grew tighter by the minute. They had no regard for women, or blacks for that matter. And she was here, a black young woman, surrounded by men, a group of white slave traders, in search of a woman to satisfy their urges. Nancy had never felt so helpless, how long was she going to keep her disguise? What if Sir Roberts decided to spill? And what had he said about selling her off at the gates? He had said he'll think about it, and by God he would. Every single person on the ship knew what the gates meant, it was their worst nightmare and fear. The place where people were priced and auctioned like pieces of fish
Chapter 9For Nancy, the weeks slipped by really fast, it was like the flight of a butterfly. She had no awareness of the time, spending most of the days in the cabin. She knew that three weeks had gone by already since that started sailing only because she had asked Sir Roberts. She spent most part of the day in the cabin, with Victory being her only companion during the day and Sir Roberts during the night. Over the weeks, the bond between her and Sir Roberts had grown rapidly, it was almost like he was a friend turned brother. After the last night they had the conversation about Luppet, Sir Roberts had not tried to touch or even do anything inappropriate to her. He had even grown to love Victory like his own. When they did not have visitors in the cabin, they would both chat away for most part of the night. It was magical to Nancy, how two people from completely different races could get along so well, it would have been even better if he was a girl. She was convinced they would
Fire in paradiseChapter 10Maybe it was a stupid mistake, running off like that. But there was no way she would be able to take living with Sir Roberts in the same cabin again after what transpired between them that morning. What if he decides to switch on her and hand her back to his lusty friends to do with her as they please? Or what if he decides to damn all odds and take her against her will? Never! She was never going to live to see that day, when a lilly livered man would use her body for his useless pleasure or sell her off as a piece of clothe? Victory's cry of hunger brought her thoughts back to reality. She stared down at the cat with pitiable eyes, they had been walking for hours, she was sure they left the cabin around morning, but right now, she couldn't tell what time it was but she could tell it was evening. The kitten was hungry by now, they had both not eaten a thing after the early breakfast they had all had that morning. "I'm sorry baby, I know you are hungry. M
Chapter 11Nancy was rudely awakened when the good woman burst into the room that morning. "Wake up! Wake up, child, before she returns and finds you here"Just then, the front door opened again and Anna burst into the room too, Nancy raised her head and saw that Victory was no longer beside her. Then she looked at the stern, hard faced woman standing by the bed and shot her a look of contempt. She wondered what the woman would do if she attacked her. She would probably run off screaming to the entire village that the cursed black magician had tried to kill her and she had narrowly escaped, she looked around and saw Mirabel staring curiously at her too, Nancy was yet to learn whether or not she had need to be wary of the child, was she like her mother or her aunt? She would never know."Be quick, child, go and dress yourself," The good woman continued, handing Nancy a rough woolen shift. "This place is not safe for you, the men from yesterday are everywhere now. They seem very convin
Chapter 12Nancy was lifted roughly into the canoe by one of the men, another one was sent out by the older man to inform the others that the Lady had been captured so they should return immediately. The old man and the younger fellow with him did not wait for the other men to join them, the younger man pushed the canoe into the river with Nancy and the old man in it and jumped into it to paddle away. The chill morning breeze played with Nancy's features, she reached out and let her hair loose, it flew in the breeze and must have brushed the younger man's face because he turned his head to her and gave her a warning look, Nancy paid him no mind and just stared into the water ahead."What is that with you and why do you have it?" The younger man who was glaring at her asked Nancy in a contemptuous tone. Nancy said nothing and just continued looking at the water, the man reached out and opened the sac containing Victory to reveal its head. Sensing the rough handling and the tension, w
Chapter 13It was not just the gate, the fence of this place spread wide across the lands around it, Nancy looked in awe as they approached the mighty spread before her. She peaked around to be sure she memorized the landscapes, but how could one master all of these wonderful spreads of property? And who could own such a house in a stretch? Maybe it was another community, for whatever lay behind these walls had to be another city, it was too big to be just one house. As they approached the mighty gate, she sighted men outside there, with most of them with swords and others with crossed bows and arrows, Nancy gasped. Were they preparing for a war? She would soon find out.Soon, the horses halted in front of the massive gate, even taller now that they were near, the armed men approached Nancy and her company, they inspected the horses and came back in front of the other men. "You had no trouble bringing the lady then?" One man asked Salem after inspecting and realizing they were all a