In the Tremulous Hands of the Sea

-ˋˏ ༻4༺ ˎˊ-

I awoke hours later having been tucked in tightly— likely by Kalina. I immediately tended to my cat, belatedly realising that he'd been given a bowl of bread crumbs and another of water.

« Ah, Laurent, elle est très gentille avec toi, oui? Et avec moi aussi. C'est assez étrange, hein? » from the day he was presented to me, I'd talked to my cat in my native tongue. I began when I was young and assumed he wouldn't understand me if I started switching languages. I came to realise that it was illogical, but was a habit before I could consider it.

« Saute, Laurent. Mon épaule, » I commanded while lightly clicking my tongue. He obeyed and hopped on my shoulder.

Kalina had tacked a long piece of canvas to the opening as she promised. Though she hadn't hung it with a rod, she merely fastened the fabric to the wood. Feeling slightly irritated by her carelessness, I shoved it aside. I belatedly noticed the candles had been lit for the day, and I wasn't thrilled about presenting myself without being properly dressed, so I held back a bit, but solved the dilemma by draping a velvet throw around my shoulders. In hindsight, I should've worried about that the previous night when I crossed the deck in my delicates.

"Captain? Do I call you that...? Are you here?" I asked, carelessly entering without a real warning. She indeed was, but seemed heavily focused on altering a garment of sorts. I didn't know pirates learned to sew. Moving Laurent to rest in my arms, I entered further into the room.

As I'd feared, it was more brightly lit. She'd lit a few lanterns around the room, faint flames flickering in the otherwise dull atmosphere. In this light, I could see her in all her glory. I had been mistaken the night before. She wasn't merely a sight to behold, but a blessing upon the eyes. An absolutely gorgeous dark haired woman, she held a solid stature surely every bit of 6 feet, if not, more. She was clearly well trained, indicated by her statuesque physique— she was rippled with muscles, holding the shape of a knight. Her top was sleeveless, so I was able to see all the way to her shoulders. Her arms weren't even just toned, but solid and thick. Jesus, she likely saw me as no threat at all!

"Hey. You know, it'd be nice if you'd warn me before meandering into my quarters, lurking and staring like some creature of the night... but I've got no choice but to forgive you. You're asking for something other than a sheer nightgown to wear. Lucky for you, I was taken in by a seamstress for a while," She directed her attention to me instead, unfaltering in the stitching of her seam. She was well-learned. "I'm tailoring a few pieces for you. I didn't secretly measure you or anything— I just have a good eye for dimensions. The top should fit damn well. I am going to need to get exact measurements for your pants, though. Hope you don't mind pants," she grinned teasingly, but grew serious seconds after, "Pants are better for action and I'm planning on putting you to work. You're going to need to bulk up a bit if you're going to survive in the underground markets of Cairo."

"I will do just fine in pants, thank you," I defiantly spat, "and have you know, I am an honorary knight!"

"Ah, an honorary knight, very... impressive," she smirked down at the top.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "The title holds a great amount of weight for a woman! And I'm royalty, for heaven's sake! Of course I know my own measurements!"

"I didn't realise princesses measure their inseams so often... you're fitted for suits?" she egged on.

"You're insufferable!" I exclaimed in exasperation. I grabbed the tape measure rather aggressively and measured from my inner leg to my ankle. She came over, clearly not trusting me to make an accurate measurement. I scoffed again as she stabilised the tape measure and made a quick note of the length. Her higher hand was at the notch of my thigh; lucky these night shorts weren't nearly as revealing as my others, but she was in dangerous territory nevertheless. I tensed, but couldn't conceal a light tremble. I didn't think she'd caught it, but I could've sworn I saw a light, fleeting grin form on her face.

"I'm gonna have to tailor a pair of my own. 32 inches, damn"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I urged her to continue, I was eager to combat her following insult.

"You're just unusually tall. I didn't realise because you're so..." she trailed on with that mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So what?!"

"Dainty..." she let the word sink in before she punctuated it with her signature foolish smirk.

"I most certainly am not! Have you never seen another woman before? We aren't usually built like titans!"

She denied me a response and orderlessly searched her closet, emerging with dense fabric in her hands

"Put 'em on, okay? I'll pin 'em on once they're covering you. Don't worry, I'm looking at the door."

I slipped off my night-shorts, donning merely in my underwear before I slipped on the trousers and held them to my body.

She turned around and stroked her chin in contemplation.

"I think that gown is also gonna have to go. Sorry, it's just too long and I'm pinning," She held up a pointy pin looking sincerely apologetic, "You want a little shirt to cover up?"

"I suppose..." I trailed off, somewhat irritated by the situation.

She handed me a lump of clothing, and I found myself tossing off my nightgown as I slipped on a tight little undershirt with a lacy trim. It barely reached my belly button.

"What could this possibly be good for?" I asked, "I'm barely covered!"

"I mean, I wear it when I want attention. It does its job— let's the abs peek out. It works on you, too, you look cute. What's the big deal?"

"I don't need to look cute for you!" I tried to conceal it, but I could feel the heat radiating off my cheeks.

"Ah, but you sure want to..." she snickered and jabbed me in the arm, "now, let's get these pants pinned up." My blush deepened as I averted my eyes to the wooden ceiling of her cabin. I'd never found a fitting so tense in all my years of enduring them. She held a pin in her mouth while she studied my figure and hummed lightly every once in a while. No matter my resistance, I couldn't help but admire her.

She was so focused, her brows knit in intense concentration, tailoring with meticulous detail. And my Lord, was she beautiful. Her hair was curly and dark, with skin that was a beautiful balance of olive and mocha. She was radiant in candlelight, and even though it was proof of overworking, the intense sun had done her wonders. She was deeply freckled and evenly brown. No matter how many times I studied her, I was invariably entranced. If only she acted differently, I thought, she would be courted immediately. Maybe then she wouldn't have to resort to such a lonely life at sea.

Through my slight distraction I saw her bite her lip out of alarm in my peripheral vision, but before I had time to think about it, she poked my leg hard with a pin.

"Hey! I didn't give consent for any vaccinations! Pay attention for heaven's sake!"

"My bad," she bit back her smile and rid her hands of the pins, reaching for a cloth.

"Who else's mistake would it be? Of course it's yours! Didn't you learn to apologise?" I reprimanded her.

"Sincerest apologies, your majesty," she knelt below me and grabbed my hand, kissing my knuckles lightly. I stood in shock then jerked away and whacked her. She shook her head and giggled, slipping the pin back in (without gouging into my skin), and stood back up.

"Now slip those off," she commanded, motioning toward my pinned up pants. Then she doused the cloth in a strangely expensive looking bourbon and handed it to me, "Put this on your wound and be careful with the other pins," removing them, I perched myself on her trunk to address it while she turned back to her station, "I'm going to get to work adjusting these."

Deeply focused on properly hemming the slacks, Kalina worked in complete silence. Meanwhile, I followed her demand and held the cloth to my rather insignificant wound, simultaneously scanning her room for my night-shorts. This woman was going to be the death of me.